A trip to Besançon (from a while ago)

Well, it's been ages since I last updated this blog. Things have been very busy here and I haven't had time but now I'm going to try to fill in some of the blanks. Back in October I went off to a conference in Besançon. We drove down from Bonn and it was a nice change to be able to go to a conference without having to get on an aeroplane.

It was a very useful meeting, it brought me up to speed on the projects here and I think a lot of progress was made. I knew almost everyone at the meeting and it was great to catch up with a lot of folks I've not seen since in years. The food was great with lots of good cheese at every meal, not a good place for those who are lactose intolerant!

The town itself is set in the ox-bow of a river and is full of beautiful old buildings. It used to be a centre for the watch industry until the advent of quartz clocks. The conference was held opposite the historic transit telescope used for timekeeping and testing of mechanical chronometers. They organised guided tours of the telescope and the Musée du Temps in town as well as a spectacular conference dinner.