Veronika's Last Day in Paris

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Today was our last day in Paris (6/9/2009). In one day we accomplished quite a bit: we had a morning meeting at Peclers, lunch in the city, afternoon meeting at Euronext, after which we came to the hotel, got our bags and went to the airport for our flight to Budapest.... and then dinner in Budapest. I really liked Paris but was excited to see Budapest.

Peclers, located in the historical fashion district Sontie, was very interesting and different from everything we have seen. What they do appeared all encompassing: history, sociology, anthropology, philosophy, psychology, in addition to general business/marketing. Our speaker, Emma Fric, said: we need to understand the past very well in order to know the future.... And part of what they do is predict future trends...

While walking around during lunch, Pooja and I kind of got lost....and I was pleasantly surprised at how friendly and helpful people were in helping us figure out where we needed to go... People at a cafe offered to look up our address on the internet and a woman we talked to outside approached us later when she saw us with a map and offered her help.....

Some of the things I noted at the meeting at Euronext that we had after lunch were: universal banking model, SRI and Islamic finance...

The check in and getting around the airport in Paris was pretty easy, but the domestic terminal was crappy. When you drive from the airport in Budapest it looks just like the states, Shell gas stations everywhere and McDonalds on every corner.

For dinner in Budapest I had the best goulash... and the freshest tomatoes... at the nearby hotel...

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