Overdue post - conference report...
Overdue because I've been back from the conference for a week now. I went to Corsica with a colleague, to a conference/"Fall School" on CARS microscopy (and more-or-less closely related research). It was an interestingly-run conference to say the least. The venue seems to mostly cater to the let's-have-a-conference-somewhere-sunny niche, and I must say it does so very well. What was really surprising was the accommodation - I was expecting some sort of hotel-style rooms, probably in the same building as the conference. There were indeed a few bedrooms in the conference centre, but most of us were put up in private holiday homes in the village, I was in an apartment with four other people (that I'd never met before). Which was quite nice really - for one thing, as many of us there were on grants that paid a fixed amount for all expenses, having the opportunity to cook for ourselves rather than eat out every day (and buy alcohol at supermarket rather than restaurant prices!) saved us a lot of cash. Well, actually, I think I'm about £100 better off at the end. Oh, and lunch every day was included (with red wine on offer, though I decided to forego that most days...), as well as dinner the last evening, followed by the conference's organiser and his band playing some jazz.
Er, yeah, the academic stuff was good too, actually. No, really, some good lectures about the basic underlying physics that I don't know enough about, and presentations about ongoing research.
Traveling there and back was less fun - on the way out, I got up at 4 am to pick up Natalie and drive to Gatwick, where our plane was then delayed by two hours. Once we landed in Corsica (direct flight, which we couldn't get on the return trip) we had to wait for several more hours, as the shuttle bus from the airport to the small village (Cargèse) had to wait for the last few stragglers from an also delayed flight to arrive. By the time we made it to the only pizzeria left open in the village at that time (about 10 pm) I hadn't had anything to eat, or to drink thanks to the stupid 100 ml rule, since about 9 am. On the way back we only had to be up at 8 am, to catch a bus back to the airport (during which I got pretty travelsick - Corsica is a very hilly island!). Then a short hop from Corsica to Nice on Air Corsica, then back to Gatwick, again on Easyjet. Oh, and because of the fixed grant and because we're both stingy (especially Natalie...) we flew with hand luggage only - as Easyjet now charge £22 per checked bag. It's surprisingly doable, for a week in warm weather, and actually rather more convenient than all that faff with baggage carousels, lost bags and the usual crap. Then a final three-hour drive from Gatwick back to Exeter.
OK, enough waffle, have some pictures. Sorry if they're slow - I've simply copied them onto my home server, so they're on a <500 kbps uplink.
The conference venue, and the beach nearby:
Coffee break:
Another beach, that we went to on the afternoon off:
The flat - backyard, living room, on of the bedrooms, kitchen:
Outside the actual lecture theatre:
The first beach again:
Once I was back home, I realised it had now been two weeks since I bottled my first attempt at homebrew beer, and so it should now be ready to drink:
Verdict - not spectacular, but more than drinkable, and quite cheap to make!
In other food-related news, a few weeks ago I made some mincemeat with real meat (and more apples from the tree mentioned previously). Today I am making (mini) pumpkin pies with some pumpkins from my veg box. The recipe seems genuine enough, and I've followed it quite faithfully, but I can't help thinking they're a bit overrated...
Er, yeah, the academic stuff was good too, actually. No, really, some good lectures about the basic underlying physics that I don't know enough about, and presentations about ongoing research.
Traveling there and back was less fun - on the way out, I got up at 4 am to pick up Natalie and drive to Gatwick, where our plane was then delayed by two hours. Once we landed in Corsica (direct flight, which we couldn't get on the return trip) we had to wait for several more hours, as the shuttle bus from the airport to the small village (Cargèse) had to wait for the last few stragglers from an also delayed flight to arrive. By the time we made it to the only pizzeria left open in the village at that time (about 10 pm) I hadn't had anything to eat, or to drink thanks to the stupid 100 ml rule, since about 9 am. On the way back we only had to be up at 8 am, to catch a bus back to the airport (during which I got pretty travelsick - Corsica is a very hilly island!). Then a short hop from Corsica to Nice on Air Corsica, then back to Gatwick, again on Easyjet. Oh, and because of the fixed grant and because we're both stingy (especially Natalie...) we flew with hand luggage only - as Easyjet now charge £22 per checked bag. It's surprisingly doable, for a week in warm weather, and actually rather more convenient than all that faff with baggage carousels, lost bags and the usual crap. Then a final three-hour drive from Gatwick back to Exeter.
OK, enough waffle, have some pictures. Sorry if they're slow - I've simply copied them onto my home server, so they're on a <500 kbps uplink.
The conference venue, and the beach nearby:
Coffee break:
Another beach, that we went to on the afternoon off:
The flat - backyard, living room, on of the bedrooms, kitchen:
Outside the actual lecture theatre:
The first beach again:
Once I was back home, I realised it had now been two weeks since I bottled my first attempt at homebrew beer, and so it should now be ready to drink:
Verdict - not spectacular, but more than drinkable, and quite cheap to make!
In other food-related news, a few weeks ago I made some mincemeat with real meat (and more apples from the tree mentioned previously). Today I am making (mini) pumpkin pies with some pumpkins from my veg box. The recipe seems genuine enough, and I've followed it quite faithfully, but I can't help thinking they're a bit overrated...