Pyrenees

I took a week in the Pyrenees at the end of July. The advertising campaign launched by Luz St-Sauveur totally seduced me, so I just had to go. How could you resist this:

It was a great opportunity to explore the outdoor office work style. For example:

Alternatively,

And in the shade of the trees:

I thought I would try write code high up, but by the time I got up here -

I was exhausted, and it was too windy and there was no comfortable shady spot. I am possibly the first person ever to lug a heavy macbook up 600 metres of mountain with no food or water. But at least on my way up, I caught a glimpse of my obelisk office - I had found a nice shady spot under the tree directly in front of the obelisk, next to the climbing wall. This is the village of Saint-Sauveur, next to the "Thermes", apparently a kind of hot spa.

From time to time, when I was feeling hungry, I treated myself to a terrace:

of which there are many in Luz, three having free internet access.

Since returning to Paris, I've tried these places:

Montparnasse Cemetery: there is a cosy well-shaded bench next to Baudelaire's grave, as long as you don't mind the tourists. A lot of iconfu.com was written here.

The Louvre: I tried the Dutch Renaissance, but there were no comfortable seats; I found a seat next to a window in Objets d'Art, but I didn't stay long, it was too cold. Finally I ended up among the statues - in the glass-roofed courtyard where it was warm, not too bright, and back support for working comfortably.

St Eustache: I had never been inside this cathedral before, despite having lived next to it for two years. I had reservations about working inside a church, but it started to rain, so the outdoor concept lost some of its shine. And once I was in, I realised it was full of tourists, so a guy in sandals with a laptop was not going to deprive the place of any spirituality. A cathedral is one of only a few kinds of place where you can sit indoors without feeling a moral obligation to purchase a glass or two of fine red wine.

The tip of Île de la Cité: my favourite. Watch the boats go by as you sit and code in the shade of the trees.

Of course, eventually my battery runs out. I try to arrange for this to happen near lunchtime, so I can recharge as I eat. Fortunately I have never found a restaurant in Paris where they objected to me plugging in while enjoying their food and drink.

I hope I can keep this up.