Recapping DNS x Paris 2022

The DNS Team -

Bonjour!

It's hard to believe that the DNS team spent an entire month together in Paris, but we did it. The trip was successful on many levels and there's a lot we want to talk about. So let's get right into it.

Why Paris?

We had several reasons for wanting to get the DNS team together, but we were there first and foremost to work together on DNS. We had items to complete that are a lot easier to do together in person, such as finalizing the new design and putting the pieces in place to ship it.  

We also had a few days of work planned at the Nomadic Labs office, we were also able to meet the Marigold dev team, both of which were really great. We're looking forward to engaging with them in the future. The other nice thing about being in Europe was that we've had some ongoing issues with our performance in Europe. Testing how well things work in Europe is a much better process when you're actually there.

Finally, a couple of our team members of DNS have very strong roots in France. It was wonderful being able to experience the city more like a local person would, and we were able to pack in plenty of activities even if the workday went later than expected. We had the best tour guides ever for this trip.

"What was Paris like?"

Most of our days started much the same as they would at home. We have a daily standup meeting together as a team, discuss tasks for the day, follow up on the previous day's work, and then we get after it. Except this time, we'd often have fresh croissants and coffee too. 🥖

We didn't always have to work from the AirBNB, though. We spent a day with the Marigold team out of one of their office spaces, which was a good time.Then we also had the pleasure of spending a few different days working with Nomadic Labs in their office. There were always a lot of interesting conversations and things to takeaway at the end of the day.

French Food

It wasn't all work all the time though. We all ate copious amounts of food while there and experienced a few new items. I'd never had snails before, but they sure are delightful. The other unexpected food highlight was how great the sour candy selections were in Paris. You really can't go wrong with any of the choices available.

snails, a candy store, a chocolate banana crepe, making dinner at home, & classic French restaurant

Typical Tourists

Even though the primary focus was work, we still had plenty of time to do all the usual tourist stuff while in Paris. If we missed anything obvious we'll just have to save it for our next adventure over there.

  • We walked the Champs-Élysées
  • Went up the Eiffel Tower
  • Visited The Louvre
  • Visited Notre Dame
  • Browsed all the awesome video gaming & geek stores in République
  • Played at the biggest arcade in Paris

It was incredibly helpful having world class tour guides. We really got to see the city through the eyes of someone who was a local, and it just made for a very relaxed experience.

Looking Ahead

With France behind us, the team is settled in back home and getting back to the business of building. The new version of the site is getting ever closer to being in production and we're looking forward to sharing it with everyone.

The team itself is also getting a little redesign - we're adding more talent and have started streamlining our internal processes to make things easier and more cohesive.  

Overall, the DNS team is setting up for long term success - we've got great leaders, great product, and great people. I already knew that, but Paris reaffirmed it.