We had a wonderful 10 days in France on a MBA "Global Business" trip. I will skip the pics of Paris since most of you have either been there or have seen numerous pics of Paris (Truth be known, I forgot to take any in Paris).This 1st shot is from a 2.5 hr boat trip off Marseille as we sailed toward Cassis. This is one of the many inlets one can sail into or vacation in (see hotels/small houses in the background). The water is clear and greenish-blue, as you can see. Where's my snorkel when I need it?
Know her?
This distant island on the left was where The Count of Monte Cristo was partially filmed. It looks like a small Alcatraz and is an abandoned prison.
Ah, our last day in Aix-en-Provence, a beautiful little city in the South of France. Melissa and the other prof had each small team find and buy specific foods at the market and tell us about the food. Then, we dug in sitting on our hotel's grounds!! No, the woman in front is not saying grace (or praying to Mecca) - she's just cutting her selections of cheeses. Notice the ruins behind us - dates back to the Romans.
Here's the fish market portion of the larger market. There were three markets going all within a few blocks of one another in central Aix. Every town/city has their own market and market days.
'Nother view.
Cezanne (born in Aix) painted many of his paintings in Aix and his home is a national treasure. This is his park in the center of Aix. Interestingly, we had a special treat while in Aix. When I was with EIMCO here in SLC, we had a French subsidiary that made underground drills. It was based in Lyon and Secoma's US President was Bernard Saltiel. He and his wife, Xenia, own a B & B not far from Aix and they met us for dinner. Bernard was raised in Aix and knew everythng about the city. Google La Royante to see their B & B.
Before Aix, we spent a couple of days in Lyon, the 2nd largest city in France. The original of this statue was melted down to make cannons during the French Revolution, The same sculptor then re-did it after the Revolution was over only to "forget" the stirrups. He was so humiliated, he committed suicide.
This is a Roman theater, still used for summer productions. Massive structure. 44 BC!! Stood the test of time, wouldn't you say?
There are two hills in Lyon which define the city. This is the Praying Hill due to a large church sitting atop the hill overlooking the city (behind me). There are two rivers in Lyon and the downtown area is built around these rivers. Makes for some beautiful walking. The 2nd hill, off to the left, was the "Working Hill." So called because the working class lived there and walked downhill to town to work in the mills, mostly textiles.
On our walking tour, we came across a closed street, labelled the Champs-Elysees of Lyon. Fountain in the foreground and walking street to the left. Most French towns have these small merry-go-rounds in central places.
One of the two rivers - could just as easy be a shot of the Seine in Paris, n'est-ce pas?
Well, that was our "fun trip" after we left Gay Paree. The business visits (8) were outstanding, thanks to Melissa, the other prof, and our tour guide who is our MBA director and is from Lyon. To wit:
- Met with the Western European CEO of GE Medical Services and his wife. They had just moved to Paris from Salt Lake. Gave us the ex-pat perspective and differences in the French business culture, as well as what it's like for the spouse with two kids.
- Alstom, the world's leader in designing and manufacturing bullet trains. We rode several we went down and back up France and they are damn fast!! Very impressive business and they went all out for us.
- Gore, the namesake of our business school. Their European headquarters are in Paris and we got to hear a recently retired French exec who started Gore's European operations. Gore was able to implement their unusual management structure into the French system, even tho it's not a "fit" at all. For those of you interested in management, leadership, culture, and performance, it was very interesting.
- Lyon Transit System. Transit is BIG in European cities and they get the best and brightest from the best schools. The president of the system gave us 2 hours and we got some excellent insights into the politics of business in France. We were set up for this visit by the transit execs from Utah's UTA.
- Bugey Nuclear Power Plant. Nuke energy supplies 96% of the electricity to France. Quite an operation we toured. No, we didn't come back glowing (at least not from the plant!).
- L'Occitane, a manufacturer, distributor, and retailer of scents, body wash, shampoo, etc. Google them for the outlet near you.
- Beaujolais Dupeuble, a family owned winery has been in the family since 1512. Talk about aged wine!! One of the owners gave us a two hr tour of the vineyards and the processes. The best part was the sampling, replete with bread, cheese, and sausage. Those French know how to give tours. And, yes, we bought some wine. I even picked up a bottle yesterday at our liquor store.
Chateau Virant, growers of olives and grapes. They make some of the best olive oil in the buisiness. Good wines too. Again, a family business and one of the owners toured us around and put a spread out for us similar to the prior winery.
I was just kidding about summer. We still have winter here on Memorial Day. Several inches in the mountains and Snowbird is staying open 'till July 4th. This is the wettest spring in recorded history and the floods are starting all over Utah. 
This is my favorite time - when the tulips are still out and the early perennials are starting to show. All that work (and MK's designs) pays off!
