My fans will be glad to learn that I survived my stay in Lens (despite the fact that I missed my train in getting there). In a nutshell: the conference was rather interesting (thanks mostly to Merkurjev's lectures), but the city was not. Lens isn't too ugly, but is probably the second most boring city in the world—second only to Bluff, Utah (where I also had the misfortune of spending a night, a dozen years ago, and that's enough for a lifetime). Not meaning to offend the Lensois, of course. Well, maybe if you like soccer (and you're in season), it can be interesting. But it's not my case. However, some of the participants in the conference enjoy soccer, and we have some pictures to prove it; I am told that despite Professor Merkurjev's ominous smile on the first picture, the French beat the Russians in the end.
I was back home at 6:30PM.