POEMA learning week 2: day 0

To change things up I have decided to make a miniseries on the **POEMA learning week 2** in Toulouse. I do this in contradistinction to the style of the my previous posts. Hence, topics other that mathematics and coding could  be included. With that said and done, welcome to my travel blog.

Day zero: 12.09.2021: The calm before the storm.

After a lengthy discussion with my colleagues at CWI, it was concluded that the train is the superior form of travel to conferences and the like. Benefiting from leg room, privacy (if you get a cabin) and a smooth ride, trains are the clear choice. In light of this I bought flight tickets because that was the only available option. If like me, you, the reader, made the same mistake and found yourself in a metal cylinder 10 km in the air heading to Toulouse you may also have had the bad judgment choose to take the T1 tram into town after landing. If you did, don't despair. Make it to the terminal station Palais de Justice and you would be treated to the sculpture and fountain Fontaine Ariège et Garonne.

This sculpture, made by Alexandre Laporte in 1896, was formerly held at Jardin des Plantes before finding its current resting place in 1982. The busty woman in the center is Garonne named after the river that splits Toulouse.  The lady with the urn is Ariège, a tributary river to Garonne. Toulouse like many French cities seems to be littered with these little gems.

After plenty of walking, I recuperated in the Grand Rond, a small but immaculate park scarcely a hundred meters form the event venue. I checked in at the hotel, met up with the lads at Basilique Saint-Sernin and concluded the night with some Cassoulet.

This week is off to an auspicious start. Hopefully, I can report some cool math tomorrow.