Quantum Diaries

I am standing on the roof of the physics building of Ecole Normale Superieure. Looking down on Paris, which these days lies under the icy spell of a clear blue winter sky.

Paris is where my husband spent his PhD years. After one week of purely scientific seclusion at CERN, there are now again favorite places to visit.
But during the day, there are be seminar talks to prepare (and give) and people to meet…
Luckily, we already used the weekend to do shopping at yet more favorite tea shops and book stores. Our hotel (and Ecole Normale, for that matter) is close to the lovely rue Mouffetard, with its market style food shops on the lower part, and shops selling all sorts of odd trinkets and clothes further up (of course I was not able to resist).
But also food-wise, we have a lot to catch up on. Stepping out from the TGV from Geneva, we already had our first helping of confit de canard at a small Brasserie. Since it turned out to be a somewhat heavy meal, the following dinner consisted of crepes only.

The physics building of Ecole Normale is located very centrally in the 5ieme arrondissement, at a short distance from the Pantheon. It is in various stages of renovation and disrepair. I am really fascinated by this building, full of secret stairways and hidden nooks with sediments of generations past. This is the way a university building should be like: full of mystery and surprises. In the offices, one breathes the chalk dust of the ages. Where we are now, supergravity has been invented.

Tags: Ecole Normale Superieure, Paris