by Nicholas Hillman and Conan Kochhar
Over the January long weekend most of 2nd Year and a couple of 3rd Years went on a wonderful trip to Paris. This life-changing trip gave us the opportunity to experience French culture, food and life.
It all started when we went to visit Sacré Coeur basilica on top of a great hill. It was built after the Franco-Prussian war and from there you can get a spellbinding view of Paris and a wonderful skyline to gaze at. The things I enjoyed the most about Paris was being lucky enough to see the city by standing at many viewpoints. For example, at Sacré Coeur, Tour Montparnasse and the Arc de Triomphe. I really liked how there weren’t many high rise buildings and it was symmetrical and aesthetically pleasing. There was a beautiful garden called the Jardin du Luxembourg, designed by Catherine de Medici who was the wife of Henri II. (No woman could reign as Queen in France.) The Opéra house in the centre of Paris (the first place Hitler wanted to go to) had phenomenal artwork and architecture. Afterwards we went on a tour of Paris, where we managed to see many of the landmarks such as the Louvre, Invalides (Napoleon’s tomb), Notre Dame and statues of Egyptian women. Next we went to the top of Tour Montparnasse (the tallest building in Paris). That is where we could gaze at the fantastic view of Paris by twilight. After, we went to the hotel. It was a simple hotel but it was quiet, so I could get some craved sleep.
The next day we went to the palace of Versailles which has incredible gardens. King Louis XIV (the ‘Sun King’) had the palace designed for the sun to rise directly opposite his bedroom. Then we went to the Champs Elysées for shopping and to get lunch. From there we proceeded to the Arc de Triomphe. buy modafinil modafinil https://yanginstitute.com We climbed to the top and saw another amazing view of Paris and La Défense. We then made our way to Notre Dame and we went to a park called Les Vosges, which Fr John really liked but everyone else was intrigued by the scooters. We then returned to the hotel and had a nice evening in an arcade, winning things!
On the next morning we took our bus to Trocadero to see a perfect view of the Eiffel Tower. Then we want to the Musée d’Orsay, where we saw a lot of wonderful pieces of artwork. Then we went for a boat trip on the river Seine to have a tour of Paris and saw more landmarks. We next visited Basilique Saint Denis (which was a Benedictine monastery) with great gothic architecture and we looked at underground graves of Louis XVI and his wife Marie Antoinette, which really moved Kieran Sparling. Afterwards, we had some lunch and then made our way to the Stade de France. We saw a small museum with lots of sports jerseys and a copy of the football World Cup. We were greeted by our tour guide, named Samir; he showed us around the stadium and we saw many legendary shirts like those of Zidane and Mbappe. Next we took the bus to the airport and flew back to Dublin.
The French trip is something we will always remember. Our French vocabulary has improved dramatically. The history of the city could be seen as every turn you take and the sites are kept in such excellent condition and are so accessible to the public. For some, the favourite part was the free time we were given to explore the different areas and being able to taste something of the amazing cuisine!
Photos by Kieran Sparling
