EULAR 2014 Meeting in Paris - a kind of diary

Wednesday
Last year the air traffic controllers had been on strike and I've been late to the Tweetup. This year I thought better to use the train from Cologne to Paris. But then we had thunderstorms crossing the Northrhine Westfalia (NRW)damaging also railway connections and moreover the railway is one strike in France.
So I took the car and had a pleasant journey out of heavy rain into nice weather. The sun was and currently is laughing out of a blue sky. But in Paris the taxi drivers are on strike, too. And they blocking road with their cars. So I arrived later than expected, but early enough to do a little sightseeing and start the congress.

Traffic jam caused by the taxi drivers (near Porte de Clichy)

Sacre Coeur

Tour Eiffel

Oh, the taxi drivers again. They were honking their horns madly.

Paris / EULAR

I've been one of the first entering the Amphi Theatre for the Opening Plenary Session

Thursday

And that's today's first session with Dr. Andrea Rubbert-Roth.

Next have been some sessions and abstract viewing, which will end in some blogposts on new development, mostly concerning RA, PsA, and AS. But this will have to wait until after the meeting.

Keeping notes during the session

And the Tweetup lies behind us, the better part of the  EULAR 2014 Meeting in Paris lies ahead of us.

Nearly all could attend. Thanks for coming and sharing news and visions again. Dr. Ai Lyn Tan excused herself as she wasn't able to find us. Too bad!

First line up

Dr. Shashank Akerkar ‏@doctorakerkar twittering about the tweetup!

We definitely should have placed Abigail(ArthritisResTher ‏@ArthritisRes) in the front row. Last year there were more women supporting the Tweetup.

We should have included a social meeting in the evening. Next time we'll do better.

After the afternoon sessions and a late satellite symposium I went to the big Arch, then back to Montparnasse, just ready for a nice setting sun and some pictures of Sacre Coeur again.

I've seen this building so often in the "Bourne Identity" that I believed having been there before, but I hadn't. this was the first time.

Paris under a full moon.

Sacre Coeur in the evening.

No! Haven't been to the Tire Bouchon.

Friday

This morning has been busy into the afternoon in on stretch of long sessions and poster viewing instead of "public viewing", oh, not what you think that's a new German expression for people watching football on a big screen.

After the last session I went on a sightseeing trip together with Michiel Zandbelt (@zandbelt). Thanks, Michiel for organizing the itinerary, which proved to be magnifique. I enjoyed the talks about our experiences with health systems across the border.

St. Germaine des Pres (I'll put on the accents later)

Old town, small lanes

Inside St. Sulpice

The Pantheon

That's Michiel in front of the Sorbonne

And ... we had a really good look at Notre Dame

Saturday

I've spent most of the time with poster viewing. Lots of interesting new development that will find entry onto this blog.

During the afternoon I did some sightseeing before I headed back to Germany.

Quoth the raven, Nevermore.

Paris,14.06.2014

Meerbusch, 17.06.2014