Bruno Mars - Tour du Monde

Exchange Adventures at ESCP Europe




So March was a pretty crazy month on exchange, had a lot of visitors but had an awesome time. Started off the month with a late night bike ride around Paris using their Velib public bike network.  Basically for 1.70 Euros you could use a bike for a half hour interval for 24 hours.  So we would bike for about 25 minutes, stop take some pictures, take in Paris at night, then after 5 minutes pick up another one and get going.  We went from Res all the way to the Eiffel Tower, passing by Notre Dame on the way there and the Louvre on the way back. My friend Tina from Queen’s, who’s studying in Vienna, came by to Paris the week after and had we did a lengthy tour of Paris.  We also made a quick trip to Brussels and stayed in a hostel for a night.  The trip was quite fun, had some great waffles, trappist beers (Rochefort 10 for the win), and possibly the greatest fries I’ve ever had in my life.  At Delirium, this bar famous for having an incredible selection of beers, we ran into three more people from Queen’s and had a fun night. The next weekend Rahul, also from Queen’s but studying in Tilburg, came by for the weekend.  We were one of the few Queen’s Commerce students not in Dublin for St. Paddy’s day, so we made the most of the night in Paris by finding an Irish pub.  I also successfully opened a bottle of wine with my shoe.  Gotta love the versatility of Chuck Taylors.  Rahul also spent like … 8 hours at the Louvre, which I could never imagine doing but we followed it up with a trip to Chez Gladines.  I will not say how many times I’ve been there. The next weekend a bunch of people were visiting including Joy & Ziana who are studying an hour outside of Paris, plus Alanna and Joy’s friend Jill from Carleton.  Had a solid weekend which included having a nighttime picnic in front of the Eiffel Tower, some beautiful views from l’Arc de Triomphe, more views from Montmartre, another trip to Chez Gladines, encountering #exchangeproblems by me saying “I’m sick of the Louvre”, and an unfortunate encounter with pickpockets.  You can tell that tourist season in Paris is upon us.  It’s great to have all of these visitors drop by because it really keeps you from neglecting one of the most beautiful cities in the world.  But other than these touristy weekends, there have been some crazy 5 Euro/Open Bar parties on the ESCP campus which are pretty ridiculous plus the exciting process of writing papers and making presentations. I apologize for the lack of updates on my end.  But I’ve got a trip to Amsterdam coming up soon as well as a trip to Disneyland Paris (had to).  Look forward to posts! -MGC 

So March was a pretty crazy month on exchange, had a lot of visitors but had an awesome time.

Started off the month with a late night bike ride around Paris using their Velib public bike network.  Basically for 1.70 Euros you could use a bike for a half hour interval for 24 hours.  So we would bike for about 25 minutes, stop take some pictures, take in Paris at night, then after 5 minutes pick up another one and get going.  We went from Res all the way to the Eiffel Tower, passing by Notre Dame on the way there and the Louvre on the way back.

My friend Tina from Queen’s, who’s studying in Vienna, came by to Paris the week after and had we did a lengthy tour of Paris.  We also made a quick trip to Brussels and stayed in a hostel for a night.  The trip was quite fun, had some great waffles, trappist beers (Rochefort 10 for the win), and possibly the greatest fries I’ve ever had in my life.  At Delirium, this bar famous for having an incredible selection of beers, we ran into three more people from Queen’s and had a fun night.

The next weekend Rahul, also from Queen’s but studying in Tilburg, came by for the weekend.  We were one of the few Queen’s Commerce students not in Dublin for St. Paddy’s day, so we made the most of the night in Paris by finding an Irish pub.  I also successfully opened a bottle of wine with my shoe.  Gotta love the versatility of Chuck Taylors.  Rahul also spent like … 8 hours at the Louvre, which I could never imagine doing but we followed it up with a trip to Chez Gladines.  I will not say how many times I’ve been there.

The next weekend a bunch of people were visiting including Joy & Ziana who are studying an hour outside of Paris, plus Alanna and Joy’s friend Jill from Carleton.  Had a solid weekend which included having a nighttime picnic in front of the Eiffel Tower, some beautiful views from l’Arc de Triomphe, more views from Montmartre, another trip to Chez Gladines, encountering #exchangeproblems by me saying “I’m sick of the Louvre”, and an unfortunate encounter with pickpockets.  You can tell that tourist season in Paris is upon us.  

It’s great to have all of these visitors drop by because it really keeps you from neglecting one of the most beautiful cities in the world.  But other than these touristy weekends, there have been some crazy 5 Euro/Open Bar parties on the ESCP campus which are pretty ridiculous plus the exciting process of writing papers and making presentations.

I apologize for the lack of updates on my end.  But I’ve got a trip to Amsterdam coming up soon as well as a trip to Disneyland Paris (had to).  Look forward to posts!

-MGC 



Just a quick update:  I’m alive. More updates soon.  I’ve really neglected this blog.  Oops. 

Just a quick update:  I’m alive.

More updates soon.  I’ve really neglected this blog.  Oops. 



[Flash 9 is required to listen to audio.]

You know that song that you listen to and you feel like you’ve been hearing it and grooving along to it for ages?  The kind of song where you can’t help but sing along?  That song that is so fresh but has a hint of familiarity that draws you in and doesn’t let you go?  That’s this song.  Sean Blackthorn knows what’s good.



Didn’t really get to finish talking about Barcelona after that first night.  We spent the second day by the water and at a museum.  We took the day pretty easy and ended the night at Bar Dow Jones.  An interesting concept where the drinks they serve were all listed on a screen and their prices would fluctuate depending on what was being bought.  Every now and then, the markets would crash and all of the prices would drop.  Pretty chill night. The last day there we climbed Montjuic in the morning and got some beautiful views of Barcelona.  After having some difficulty finding our way down the mountain, we ate some Paella off the side of the mountain and enjoyed the view.  Following a quick siesta, we headed to the top of Parc Guell and had a few drinks while taking in the city.  Just a sick time in Barcelona and definitely want to head back sometime in the future.  Maybe when Segrada Familia is finished?

Didn’t really get to finish talking about Barcelona after that first night.  We spent the second day by the water and at a museum.  We took the day pretty easy and ended the night at Bar Dow Jones.  An interesting concept where the drinks they serve were all listed on a screen and their prices would fluctuate depending on what was being bought.  Every now and then, the markets would crash and all of the prices would drop.  Pretty chill night.

The last day there we climbed Montjuic in the morning and got some beautiful views of Barcelona.  After having some difficulty finding our way down the mountain, we ate some Paella off the side of the mountain and enjoyed the view.  Following a quick siesta, we headed to the top of Parc Guell and had a few drinks while taking in the city.  Just a sick time in Barcelona and definitely want to head back sometime in the future.  Maybe when Segrada Familia is finished?



[Flash 9 is required to listen to audio.]

Talent.  Listen to it.

First day in Barcelona was a long one.  Made it to they boys’ place around 11AM and after a quick bite we head out to be touristy.  Most of the day was spent just walking around and taking in the city but I’d say the highlight was seeing the basilica Segrada Familia.  It was really pretty breathtaking. The night was quite busy.  We hit up a tapas bar for dinner followed by a couple of shot bars the better of the two being Chupito’s.  These shots were pretty ridiculous.  A lot of them were lit on fire, one included lighting your own thumb on fire, and one including inhaling the gas of the burning shot.  Pretty crazy night. -MGC

First day in Barcelona was a long one.  Made it to they boys’ place around 11AM and after a quick bite we head out to be touristy.  Most of the day was spent just walking around and taking in the city but I’d say the highlight was seeing the basilica Segrada Familia.  It was really pretty breathtaking.

The night was quite busy.  We hit up a tapas bar for dinner followed by a couple of shot bars the better of the two being Chupito’s.  These shots were pretty ridiculous.  A lot of them were lit on fire, one included lighting your own thumb on fire, and one including inhaling the gas of the burning shot.  Pretty crazy night.

-MGC



So a couple of days ago it was Valentine’s Day in the most romantic city in the world.  At the beginning of the night, we had the intention of being bitter and going down to the Eiffel Tower and throwing popcorn at all of the couples.  Didn’t happen.  Mostly because … well let’s just say we didn’t make it out.  Anyway, let your ears feast on some Morning Benders.

Right now, we’re waiting at the CDG airport for an early flight to Barcelona for the weekend.  Updates soon.

-MGC



First of all, came across a very funny (but quite saddening) blog about “Bonny Bear” or better known as Bon Iver which contained a lot of tweets and comments about Justin Vernon after winning a couple of Grammys on Sunday.  Anyway, here’s a music video from his latest album which was up for Song of the Year.

Pretty interesting weekend in Paris.  The Barcelona Boys plus Rahul came up to Paris for the weekend and we hit up the Louvre, they made it to the essential Eiffel Tower and also planked in front of le Chateau de Versailles.  We also went to an interesting bar on Sunday night.  This small little place in the 6e, Zero de Conduite, has a bunch of different cocktails (alcoholic and non-alcoholic) all named after cartoon characters.  To order, you must draw the cartoon character that your drink is named after and then it is served to you in a baby bottle.  Then, you get the option of playing board games at your table.  A little reminiscent of Snakes and Lattes in Toronto, but quite an experience.

-MGC

The album version of this song was playing in a grocery store.  Paris is awesome. 

-MGC



Dad decided to drop by Paris for the weekend after a business trip in the UK.  That means it’s time to try a bunch of different restaurants in Paris!  Two restaurants we tried were recommended to us and were notable from the weekend. Chez Gladines:  A little Basque restaurant in the 13th.  No words can describe how in love I am with this place.  Relatively inexpensive but a lot of food - perfect for students.  The duck and the cheesy potatoes were so delicious and I don’t think I’ve ever been more full.  Add a bottle of wine and you get perfection.  I felt very French eating in there and will definitely stop by again soon.  If you’re ever in Paris, this restaurant is a must, but get their early! Cafe Constant:  Quite the opposite of Chez Gladines, but still delicious.  One of a string of restaurants owned by the chef Christian Constant on Rue St. Dominique, it is probably the most affordable of the group.  The food is much more delicately made, but this fine dining mixed in with all of the “cooking” I’ve been doing lately is quite refreshing. Because of the cold weather currently going through Europe, there wasn’t much that we could do.  Other than all of the eating, we made a day out of the Musee d’Orsay - filled with impressionist paintings and sculptures but honestly one of the major benefits was getting out of the cold. -MGC

Dad decided to drop by Paris for the weekend after a business trip in the UK.  That means it’s time to try a bunch of different restaurants in Paris!  Two restaurants we tried were recommended to us and were notable from the weekend.

Chez Gladines:  A little Basque restaurant in the 13th.  No words can describe how in love I am with this place.  Relatively inexpensive but a lot of food - perfect for students.  The duck and the cheesy potatoes were so delicious and I don’t think I’ve ever been more full.  Add a bottle of wine and you get perfection.  I felt very French eating in there and will definitely stop by again soon.  If you’re ever in Paris, this restaurant is a must, but get their early!

Cafe Constant:  Quite the opposite of Chez Gladines, but still delicious.  One of a string of restaurants owned by the chef Christian Constant on Rue St. Dominique, it is probably the most affordable of the group.  The food is much more delicately made, but this fine dining mixed in with all of the “cooking” I’ve been doing lately is quite refreshing.

Because of the cold weather currently going through Europe, there wasn’t much that we could do.  Other than all of the eating, we made a day out of the Musee d’Orsay - filled with impressionist paintings and sculptures but honestly one of the major benefits was getting out of the cold.

-MGC