Back home, back to my Rissa, could there be anything better than that? One could try, but one would not succeed! Saturday, the day we started back for home. It was kind of weird, waking up to an aching body. Partly due to the long walks we took I guess. Breakfast, the last one we had in Fréjus, at least for the foreseeable future, was another damp croissant affair.
The first bus out, took us, the summer school participants to Nice. Only a few decided to join this. The trip back was eventful and how! It seemed imminent as if the bus would catch on fire, as the air conditioning unit started to smoke up the bus. The valiant driver took us to the airport and we alighted and said our final goodbyes to each other.
Since there was still some time before the check-in started, the Namesake and I had some breakfast at the airport, and some coffee. Andreas joined us later, after our second cup of coffee, and we guys went to the waiting area. The flight, Brussels Airlines was delayed. We started the boarding 30 minutes late and left on a small plane, 25 minutes late. Had some delish sandwiches on board as we read a magazine or two, and dozed on and off.
Brüssel, and my god, the airport is maddeningly difficult to navigate. You have to pass through a maze of corridors, and go all the way around the place to just get to the baggage claim. And there, on the the claim belt, bags from 4 different flights are strewn at the same time. It is not only inconvenient and not only does it take so much time, it is confusing, and very frustrating. You can tell when the Namesake is mad, when he just changes expression and a scowl comes over his good-natured disposition! haha, so the rant is confirmed by de Jong.
The taxi was waiting for us at the airport and we emerged from the Brüssel airport gates all tired and dirty and one hour late. The taxi trip back was excruciating as it seemed the driver had set his Air Conditioning Unit to HEAT THE DARNED BUS UP. It was so very ugh not fun! The weather was overcast as I saw the welcome signs of home, and never has a guy rushed online faster than I did. And there I was home, and back in the loving arms of my Rissa. And all seemed to be alright with the world again.
Tomorrow it is back to work again, a visit from a scholar from Turkey and a prospective PhD student from India. It is indeed going to be a full day. I was talking to de Jong a while back, and we are very enthusiastic about following up on our idea of a joint paper soon. IMSLD and Semacodes. It seems a promising premise. Let’s explore that further. The Summer School is bearing fruit ja!