ESN Paris Trip: October 14-16

Hello All,

I truly should have written about Paris immediately after I returned - forgive the late posting!

The trip had a very early morning start with a 5 am meeting at the HEC campus to catch the coach. Myself and a few others stayed up all night in anticipation of the trip. What is the point of sleeping when you know you're going to bed around midnight and getting up around 4? Or so the logic went (and what completely terrible exchange student logic it was...). Due to some quick feet and good luck myself and Camillo (Brazil) managed to score the front seat on the top level of the bus. Driving 4.5 hours to Paris is much more bearable when you have the best seats in the house. Sleeping for more than half of it didn't hurt either. Until we actually got within 20 minutes of Paris, it was an extremely quiet bus ride as everyone crashed.

First stop on the tour was the palace of Versailles. We only had an hour or so to whip through the main palace and tour the gardens. While it was not enough time, it was a great opportunity for everyone to stretch their legs and get a good idea of the grandeur and splendor of the place...

The backside of Versailles

The entire ESN Paris Trip group - roughly 70 people

Following Versailles we got immediately spoiled with the Parisian landmark of all time, the Eiffel Tower. There are three stages available to the public. The first two are free for all to climb up, the very top is by fee. Most of us stopped at the second deck just because the view was still incredible and as always, time was short. This stop also included views of the Champs de Mars and Trocadéro (site of the Palais de Chaillot).

L-R: Greece, Greece, USA, Canada, Poland, Poland, Brazil, Spain

Following the Eiffel Tower we boarded a boat for a tour down the Seine river. It was so relaxing to just sit and see all the phenomenal landmarks pass by. Paris is absolutely something that should be witnessed in person if at all possible. Everywhere you look there is such style, history, and vibrant life. As the boat passed beneath bridges, the pedestrians above us would wave. At one point, a man on one of the bridges grabbed the woman he was with and gave her this huge long kiss and didn't let her go until we'd passed beneath them. Everyone on the boat cheered - it totally captured the romantic spirit of the city.

Aboard the Bateau Mouche

 Finally around 18h we made our way to our hostel. After sorting everyone into rooms, which always takes longer than it should, everyone began the process of locating dinner and preparing for a night out. The ESN Team had worked it out so that we had a night club, The Cap Rouge, almost entirely to ourselves for several hours. Although the club was nice enough, Vicki, Chelsa, and I ended up going and sitting outside at a Cafe instead. We heard lots of great stories the next day but after being up for almost 40 hours straight, an early bedtime definitely hit the spot.

Day 2 included walking tours around the Latin Quarter, Cité Island, Notre Dame Cathedral, Place de l'Hôtel de Ville, Rue de Rivoli, Place des Vosages, the Marais, the Sacré Choeur Basilica, Montmarte Hill, and the Moulin Rouge. I know a lot of the names don't mean too much on their own but as I mentioned, the summary of Day 2 = walking tour. Again, I am kicking myself for not blogging sooner but I figure there's only so much detail that you guys can stand to read anyway. The ESN Team did a really excellent job of keeping everyone moving in a timely fashion and providing interesting tidbits of information about each area. Of course the obvious highlights were the Notre Dame Cathedral, the Sacré Choeur Basilica, and the Moulin Rouge. The general consensus was a preference for the Sacré Choeur Basilica over Notre Dame but this probably has more to do with the different eras the churches were built in (ND of course being gothic and SCB being less than 200 years old and a top an indescribable view of Paris).

Outside the Sacré Coeur Basilica

Check out that line to get in!

Notre Dame Cathedral

Outside the entrance with Ewelina (Poland)

And thus Day 2 flew by in a flurry of tourist delight. As is the tradition with ESN Trips, Saturday night was also a party night. This time an Irish bar called 'Finnegan's Wake' was the venue of choice. Instead of attending an Irish bar in Paris, a group of girls from my hostel room went out for a nice dinner that went until at least 23h. By that point we didn't want to wander around in the cold dark and risk getting lost... back to the hostel and bed for us! We are party poopers to be sure, however, you can bet we were in the best shape of anybody the next day.

Which brings me to the final day of what was truly an unforgettable and magnificent trip. We were fortunate enough to be granted 3 hours at the Louvre first thing. Of course with the Louvre being as absolutely massive as it is, 3 hours was no where near enough. However, we all wandered at our own speeds and I got to see some really famous pieces - in particular the Mona Lisa and the Venus de Milo. I know it is common knowledge that the Mona Lisa is disappointing due to size, however, I was pleasantly surprised because my expectations were so low. I also learned that I vastly prefer paintings to sculptures - there was no shortage of either to be sure!

With the famous glass pyramid and Maxime from the ESN team

Out front with Ewelina and Maxime

Our Louvre visit was followed by free wandering by the Jardin de Tuileries, Place de la Concorde, Champs Elysées, Place de l'Étoile and L'Arc de Triomphe. By far, L'Arc de Triomphe was the most powerful of all the landmarks for me. The view from the top was unmatchable and the history and information available inside was fantastic. For it to be the very last thing I did in Paris was the perfect ending to one of the best weekends of my life.

Very beautiful but extremely crowded - Champs Elysées

On top of L'Arc with Vicki (Britain) and Max (Belgium).
Vicki is probably 5'1 while Max is around 6'3. Love the Eiffel Tower in the background!

Place de l'Étoile and L'Arc de Triomphe with Liga (Latvia), Martina (Germany), and Ewelina (Poland)

A top L'Arc: Sandra (Sweden), Max, Vicki, Liga, Martina, Marie-Theres (Austria), and Ewelina

So there you have it. Congratulations if you actually made it to the end of this post. No need to tell me it was a long one! Of course these are only the bare basics of what we did and saw. There were so many fantastic moments and observations that could fill up page after page of writing but I will spare you. Suffice it to say that we all had an amazing time discovering Paris together and it is every bit just as incredible as they would have you believe.

Love to all,

Jacqueline