Hi, It's been suggested that I write a blog about my first trip to CERN and my first taste of fondue (actually it is because otherwise Patrick Koppenburg et al threatened to hold us hostage in a US army base "somewhere in Cuba" whilst forcing us to listen to David Gray's Babylon at full volume in an sensory deprivation cell - http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/7488498.stm). So here goes...
I Arrived on 15th March with fellow first year PhD student Paul (aka The Machine) Schaack for a software and Flavour Physics week for LHCb. The view from the plane of the mountains and stuff was cool, but don't arrive on an empty stomach to CERN on a Sunday night! Monday was full of software lectures and got to meet the rest of the Imperial LHCb crew: Tom, Will, Fatima and Chris. They were very nice and helpful in showing us around during the week.
Tuesday night the crew (with addition of Ulrik, Patrick and others) took us out to Geneva for a meal at a Vietnamese restaurant (Kinh Do?) and a bar afterwards. The buses run precisely on time and the streets are eerily clean and quiet, quite a change from London.
Wednesday we had not much to do so we, along with our first year comrades on CMS (Mike, Zoe and Robin), went to Geneva again to check out our future accommodation and had dinner at an Italian restaurant. Oh yeah, during the day we were fortunate enough to see the LHCb detector, which is situated 100m underground. It was big.
Thursday, fondue day. Went again to Geneva with the LHCb crew to a fondue place recommended by Patrick's mother-in-law. The place and the waiters were typically "Swiss-French", but the fondue was an experience... The taste was good but it was seriously filling(!) Luckily we received a health and safety introduction on how to eat fondue by Patrick before the meal and so we safely avoided the dangers of eating fondue... Still had room for an awesome dessert though (there's always room!).
Seeing as in a month or so's time we will be moving there for a long term attachment it was helpful to have had a taster of CERN and Geneva. Personally the place will take some getting used to: the food, the language, the orderliness, the sheer number density of beards at CERN, etc.. but also the prospect of living in a different country, winter skiing and stuff will be great. I am looking forward to it either ways.
Peace out,
Ravi & Paul
