Une Nuit a Paris

[Ibby]

More than one night, actually. Come springtime, I'm going on the Paris field trip. Yes, thats Paris, France. A good few thousand miles away. I actually wanted to go to Rome more, but Paris is gonna be fun, I'll love the art... though possibly be less loving of the cuisine.

[Undertoad]

My best field trip was to Hershey. It was 15 minutes away.

[Griff]

We went to now renamed Olympic Lake. 50 minutes from the school 5 minutes from my house... quite a bender though.

[Ibby]

Well when youre going to a very expensive private international school (that YOU pay for!)...

[Griff]

Don't listen to whiners, have fun fella!

[Clodfobble]

How many other students are going? And how many chaperones?

[Ibby]

I think about fifteen or twenty kids, maybe even thirty but i doubt it... and five or so chaperones.

[breakingnews]

Paris is great. Except yeah, they weren't very fond of Americans. Might have just been my experience, but I've heard many people say the same.

If they cut you guys loose, go to Pigalle (or get off the metro at Place de Clichy and walk through the red light district) and walk to the top of Montmartre. That is probably my favorite place in the entire city. And bring booze, it's hard to find once you leave the main blvd.

[breakingnews]

Originally Posted by Ibram

though possibly be less loving of the cuisine.

Aside from the fancy schmancy stuff you see on TV, "normal" french fare is surprisingly simple. If you eat the following, you will have covered most of the bases:

- panini (jambon avec brie is a must)
- crepe (minimum two: a ham, egg & cheese one followed by a nutella and banana)
- moules frites (steamed mussels with fries)
- croque monsieur/croque madame
- any type of cheese with a hard, moldy rind
- croissant (PAIN AU CHOCOLAT!)

Pizza in paris is actually pretty good. And you MUST eat a sandwich grec with french fries IN the sandwich - there is no other way.

[Sundae]

I much prefer Rome to Paris, so I applaud your taste, but Paris can be fun too - depends how much time you have.

French food is great! Anything with a chicken or bean base is likely to be well flavoured, well cooked and reasonably priced away from the main restaurants. And yes - DO have moules frites et biere (which you will be able to drink if accompanied by an adult)

Parisians don't hate Americans - they hate everybody. If you work on that assumption, you'll be delighted when and if you are greeted with courtesy.

How's your French btw? Things will be much easier with basic reading and listening skills, but it's not necessary to speak it - in most places your French will be viewed with derision unless you're very fluent, so my advice is play the ignorant foreigner and point

Don't mess about on the Metro. Two friends of mine when I was in my teens were "arrested" for general horseplay. They were probably behaving like idiots, but nothing that would have come to the attention of the authorities in London. They had to present their passports at a police station and were given a talking to. I wasn't there at the time, but I know it scared them rigid. It was a while ago now, but I can't believe security has relaxed in the current global situation.

I agree with breakingnews 100% - if it's at all possible, go to Montmartre (if you want a flavour of what it looks like before you go, watch the French film Amelie)

Finally read if you want to get the most out of it. Get a good guide book and decide what interests you and what you want to see. There are hidden gems everywhere, and only you will know what floats your boat. Above all - enjoy

[Ibby]

I don't have a lot of choice on where I go and when, like I said, it's a field trip.

I can say bonjour, count to five or six, and... all the other words every american seems to know.

I dont eat meat so the meat dishes are out, I dont drink (and I'm, again, on a SCHOOL field trip) so the booze is out, and I'm a damn picky eater so just about everything else is out too.

I hope to go back relatively soon without the school, but until then I have about as much choice in where I go as a toddler.

[xoxoxoBruce]

Is there an official reason for this field trip.....exposure to art....exposure to french.....exposure to Europe......the chaperones want a free trip to Paris?

[Sundae]

Sorry, I forgot your age- our school trips were when we were 17-18. We were given some time to ourself and yes we did manage the odd beer

It's still worth reading up on the city, you might find yourself walking down an otherwise nondescript street that means something to you because of your personal knowledge.

[Ibby]

I'll undoubtedly research the city, I like not feeling like a bewildered tourist... even when i am a bewildered tourist.

The trips are to Rome, Paris, Istanbul/parts of Greece, Africa, and Taiwan. Last year it was Thailand, Taiwan, or Cambodia, cause last year was Asian Studies in humanities (linked english/social studies), and this year it's Western Studies.

[breakingnews]

I'm currently reading Bill Bryson's "Neither Here Nor There," a great travel book about backpacking through Europe (he did the trip as a teenager and 20 years later decided to retrace his steps). He definitely summed up something about Paris that I could not put a finger on. Anyway, if you're bored, pick up one of his books, any of them. Easy reads.

But what I really dislike about buildings like the Pompidou Center, and Paris is choking on them, is that they are just showing off. Here's Richard Rogers saying to the world: "Look, I put all the pipes on the outside. Am I cute enough to kiss or what?" I could excuse that if some consideration were given to function. But no one seems to have thought what the Pompidou Center should do - be a gathering place, a haven - because inside it is just crowded and confusing. The center has none of the sense of space and light and majestic calm of the Musee d'Orsay. It's like a department store on the first day of a big sale. There's hardly any place to sit and no focal point - no big clock or anything - at which to meet someone. It has no heart.