Smart People Take the Bus - TEDGlobal 2012

All is quiet in the city of Edinburgh on 30 June 2012. All? Not quite. At Café Nero on Lothian Road, Krystian gives Ivana and me an exclusive demo of the Polish tradition of bakalie, while we wait for Anwar and Hugo to join us for breakfast. Our appointment is at 9. At 9:45, Anwar calls to say they are on their way. We give them 30 minutes. At 10:15, we leave them a note to say we’re off to the Sheraton to meet Kristin.

She sent an email saying that she has some extra OTP trays to share with any volunteer who is still in Edinburgh. Anwar and Hugo show up too. Kristin, outnumbered by the crazy OTP crowd, discovers some unexpected uses of the OTP Tray.

Armed with our extra trays, we go luggage-hunting at Ivana’s hostel and Anwar’s hotel, where we bump into Le Monde columnist Flore Vasseur. Her statement “The two coolest TED crowds? Fellows and Translators! And you can quote me on that one!” earns her a tray and the title of first Honorary Member of the Order of the OTP Tray. We escort Ivana, Anwar and Flore to the Airline shuttle bus.

As Krystian, Hugo and I wander through rainy Edinburgh, we further explore the tray’s features. Krystian has an appointment with friends, so Hugo and I head home. In the afternoon, it’s his turn to take the Airline link to Edinburgh Airport, where he will see a couple of familiar faces. I guess it is at the airport that Daria Musk got a present – doubling the number of members of the Order of the OTP Tray.

Near Haymarket, I run into gentleman Alberto Pagani, who is helping Katarina Smetko to get her luggage on the bus. Alberto and I make a dinner appointment at 6 PM, with Elena Crescia, who will keep me company at the Bell Tower Apartment now that all my flat mates are gone.

We have a nice sushi dinner and we shoot a couple of very quick movies. At the Bell Tower Apartment, we fish the last of the Belgian Chocolates out of the box (leaving only the Norwegian ones… ) before we go to bed.

On Sunday morning, Elena and I have bakalie à l’écossaise (with porridge) for breakfast. I take a last stroll trough the city and have a last coffee in Ryan’s bar. Then I go to the bus stop and take the Airline link. Until we meet again, marvellous Edinburgh.

PS: If this story sounds like a bus commercial, here’s why: I come from the country where they made this ad worth spreading, shown at TEDGlobal 2012.