October 12, 2012- Free Day in Paris!

Our last day in Paris- October 12 we woke up to a beautiful day! This was a bonus since it had rained most of the week so far. Lex and I planned to head to the Tour d'Eiffel first in hopes of getting up to the Champagne Bar on the upper level. Since we got in so late the night before, we slept late and were too late to get in the front of the very long line. We decided rather than spend the entire morning waiting in line at the Tour d'Eiffel, we would head to the Arc de Triomphe and see if we could climb to the top for some good pictures.

 

On the way, we stopped to eat lunch at a sidewalk cafe. We ordered French onion soup and it was delicious!


French onion soup for lunch

Weather still perfect when we reached Arc de Triomphe. Line was much smaller here to climb to the top. Over 300 steps, I think.


Arc de Triomphe



View from top of Arc de Triomphe


Next, we decided to check out Notre Dame on Ile de la Cite. On the way, we passed through Jardin des Tuileries. There were many people out enjoying the garden in the sunny weather. Beautiful place!

Made it to Notre Dame. Toured inside and out. No way to describe the beauty and enormity of this building. You just have to see it for yourself. 





Notre Dame

 


Notre Dame

 

Bridge at Pont Neuf


Wandered back to the mall underground at the Louvre to buy chocolates and macarons for Christmas presents.

We found a quaint cafe near the Louvre with what looked like an interesting street view and ordered dinner. We decided to try escargot, which was served on a special plate with tongs. Appeared to be cooked with butter, garlic and parsley. They were very good and tasted a lot like mussels. We also had good wine, bread, salad with duck and pasta. Everything was delicious!




escargot

  

On the way back to the hotel, we stopped at the Bastille subway stop and had a drink at a cafe. This area was very busy on Friday night and offered good people watching.

Poster for Disney's Helloween in subway station

Almost back to the hotel, we decided to stop in a local bar and see what was going on. We were surprised to find Thomas, Elliott and Preston from our group singing Karaoke with the local french crowd. We joined in and danced and sang a few songs until they closed down the bar. Great ending to a fun day in Paris and a fun week in France!

October 11, 2012- Paris

Breakfast at the hotel.

Louvre Entrance

Bus ride to Lourve for Express Tour. Got to see several Greek sculptures, painting of Napoleon's Coronation by Jacques- Louis David, and the Mona Lisa.

Coronation of Napoleon

Mona Lisa

Jardin Des Tuileries

Leaving the Louvre is was raining. We did a quick tour of Jardin Des Tuileries right outside the Louvre which was still beautiful even in the rain.

During the afternoon we toured Musee D'Orsay which features works from some of the most famous impressionist painters: Van Gogh, Monet, Manet, Renoit and Degas. This museum was much smaller and more managable than the Louvre which was pretty overwhelming. It was incredible to see these paintings up close. You could really study the brush strokes. This was a highlight of the trip for me.

Met back up with the group to get on City Rama guided tour including a bus.

First stop, dinner at the Eiffel Tour.

Dinner at Tour d'Eiffel





Was great to be with the group which had already book reservations. We moved to the front of the line and up elevator to 2nd level for dinner. Dinner was very nice: froie de gras, chicken and potatos and desert. Wonderful Bordeaux wine was included. View was fantastic. It rained pretty heavily while we were there, but had cleared up by the time we left.

Next stop- River boat tour on the Seine river. This was really nice. Saw Notre Dame eluminated as well as other buildings on West Bank.

Seine River boat tour

Next stop- Moulin Rouge. We had tickets for show starting a 11:30 pm. I was getting pretty tired. Exterior features the famous wind-mill on the roof. Inside was crowded with individual tables like a dinner theater. A glass of champagne was included with the ticket. Additional drinks were VERY expensive. Dancing girls costumes were very elaborate and most dances featured topless dancers. They did do a can-can or two. I enjoyed the fill-in acts the best. During costume changes, acrobats, jugglers and comedians did short acts which were more interesting than the dances. Show was over after 1 am. City Rama bus drove us back to the hotel. We were all exhausted!



October 10, 2012- Group presentations at university and TGV to Paris

Breakfast at the hotel and packed up bags for checkout.

Headed to University of Angers for group presentations on multi-cultural topics. 3 hours of presentations.


Business building at University d'Angers

The group presentations were very interesting. The class from Angers was truly international with students from France, Poland, UK, Madagascar, Romania, Germany, China, Ecuador, Italy, and South Africa. I probably missed a few.  The group topics addressed cultural differences in settings including: dining, job interviews, advertising, dating, the environment and sustainability, and a special nationalist presentation on POLAND!

I was very disappointed in our group's presentaiton on dating and relationships. We had really interesting conversations during our class worktime, but these thoughts were not well represented in the final presentation. Our Prezi left a lot to be desired and my group was pretty shy in making the presentation. The attitudes about dating and relationships do vary between the nationalities represented in my group: French, Polish, American and Madagasy. The French seem to be very casual regarding dating. The go out in groups and have no expectations around marriage, even if the couple decides to have kids. French weddings are paid for by the couple and are not normally held in churches, since most French are agnostic. Polish and US attitudes seemed to be similar with more one-on-one dating and family weddings usually held in churches. Madagascar seemed to be the most conservative culture regarding dating and marriage. Young people live with their parents until they get married. Dating is formal and parental permissions are required. Weddings a large family events.

After the presentations, we took tram to train station and had lunch there. Ate at a fantastic seafood restaurant right across the street from the train station. On TGV at 2:30 pm. Took a nap on TGV and before I knew it we were in Paris!


Lunch across from train station in Angers



  


TGV in Paris

We took taxis to the Best Western and had a few hours to unpack and rest before meeting in the lobby with group to explore Paris. Met friend of Dr. Medlin's, Laura, who took us on a tour of Champs Elysees to the Arc de Triomphe. We stopped at an Italian restaurant along Champs Elysees for dinner. We enjoyed the terrific pizza and lasagna. The Champs Elysees is really beautiful at night. Got to Arc de Triomphe and took pictures. The stairs the the top were closed. Took the subway back to hotel.




Dinner along Champs Elysees

Arc de Triomphe at night

October 9, 2012- University Angers and Cointreau tour

Spent the morning working at University of Angers with our groups working on our presentations. Our group decided to present on the topic of Love and Relationships in the various countries represented by our gorup members: US, France, Madagascar and Poland. Kuba, the Polish student, put together Power Point slides as we discussed each country's approach to dating and relationships. We had very interesting conversations. In general, the French seemed to have a very laid-back approach to dating and marriage. They date in groups rather than one-on-one. There is not pressure to get married even after a couple has children. Weddings are not a big deal, since most French do not attend church. Most wedding are paid for by the couple who invites mostly friends and family. Parents do not really interfere. Poland and US seem to have similar approaches to dating and marriage. Man is expected to take woman on a formal "date"- dinner, movie, etc. to show real interest. Weddings are still held at church and parents are involved. Children or not had out of wedlock in most cases. Madagascar was most conservative of people in our group. Young people live with their parents until they are married, so man must ask woman's parents for permission to date. Weddings are family affairs held in churches. Couple must be married to have children. At the end of our day, Pierre, offered to make a Prezi for our presentation the next day. We all agreed and assumed he would do a nice job. Turns out, we should have used the Power Point Kuba put together while we were working in our group, since it had details of all we talked about. The Prezi did not and our group did not do a good job elaborating in front of the class, so a lot of the good and interesting discussions we had were lost to the class. A shame, because we all learned a lot in our group. We just didn't adequately share the next day in class.

Tour of Cointreau. Similar to Giffard in how Cointreau is made. Cointreau also had a hall of all previous advertising for the Cointreau brand through the years which was very interesting. Finished the tour with a tasting and visit to the gift shop.

Dinner with Lex at a Thai restaurant in downtown Angers. Thai food was excellent.

October 8, 2012 - University of Angers

Morning lecture at Angers university by Dr. Dawn Medlin on the differences in doing business virtually vs face- to- face. This was an introduction to our project in which the Americans were put into groups with the international students from the university. The purpose of our project was to describe a common cultural or business situation from different country's perspectives.

We met the students in our groups briefly and talked about possible topics for our presentation. My group had 4 French students, 1 Polish student and 1 student from Madagascar. I could tell that I was going to have to lead this group. Their all seemed pretty shy and not willing to take the lead. I tossed out several ideas and asked them to think about which one they wanted to cover for our presentation so that we could decide the next day. They seemed most interested in the topic of dating and relationships, but wanted to think on it overnight.

We also had a short lecture by John Cassini and John Webb on living in France as an American. They focused on cultural differences between Americans and French and on living in France as Americans. Interesting points were the differences between the two cultures with respect for being one time. The French are habitually late, while Americans stress being on-time. Another major difference which the French students reinforced on our project, is the idea that the French focus on what they believe is good for their society as a whole, while Americans are most interested in what is perceived as best for themselves individually and for their small communities or neighborhoods. Americans are influenced and want to respect and be respected by family and neighbors. French could care less what their neighbors think about their actions or political views, but focus on their national identity. This is probably because their country is so much smaller than the US. French in general are more liberal on social views.

We then had lunch with the French students at the school cafeteria. George, a student from Ecuador, escorted us through the lunch line and paid for our lunch.  We had a interesting lunch with him as he told us about his studies and career plans. He is studying Chinese and very interested in International business. He doesn't plan to stay in France after he graduates. He explained that getting a job in France as a new university graduate is very difficult. You basically need to know someone to get your foot in the door. He doesn't really have good connections in France. He was hoping to find an internship in the US at a large bank, like BofA. He told us that the French students pay only 250 euro per year to attend university and he was able to go for that little as well. He didn't think it made much sense for the French to subsidize the foreign students educations as well, but they do, so it's a good deal for him.

After lunch, we took a tour of Giffard a local liquor and syrup company. They explained the process of fermenting the fruits and herbs to make various liquors. We then took a tour of the plant and had a tasting. The original mint liquor, MenthePastille, was very good.

Later, we had a lecture by Jean- Claude Fetteira from Countreau on doing business internationally. He had a heavy accent and wasn't talking very loud, so I missed a good bit of what he was saying. He did talk about working for Countreau around the world and the cultural differences in doing business in different countries. Here are a few of his suggestions on doing business in different cultures:
Doing business in US- professional approach, confident, process approach not favored
China- get to know one another- drink together, relationships matter, save face, results focus, most be part of good network in China, "yes" must be verified
Singapore- very smooth, very professional, no personal relationships, "yes" means yes
India- everything is possible, but you will not know when, lying is not lying
Russia- wild world, rules not defined
UK- know English language well, shades of meaning
Japan- Lost in translation, very difficult to communicate, 20 ways to address people, very complicated

We did a quick dinner at a local cafe so we could get home early.

October 7, 2012 - Explore countryside near Angers

Breakfast at the hotel.

We are met by American professors John Web and John Cassini from University of Angers who take us on a day long tour of the countryside surrounding Angers, the Loire River Valley.

Chateau Brissac

First stop- Chateau Brissac which is the tallest royal castle in France and is today the residence of the 13th Duke of Brissac who lives there with his family. The castle offers tours to the public and can be rented for conferences and other events. Chateau also has a vineyard.

We toured around the Loire River and stopped in a small town, Thoureil. Hiked up a hill above the city to see a rock in the woods, supposedly moved there 5,000 years ago as a place of worship.



grapes



5,000 year old rock

 Touring more around the countryside, we stopped at several cathedrals built around 1100's.

Last stop before returning to Angers- Bouvet Ladubay for wine tasting. Tasted some champagnes as well as red wines from Saumur region. Bought a couple bottles of Saumur Rouge- great value for only 5 euro. 



Bouvet Ladubay



Saumur wines



I sat in the front of the van and got to talk with John Webb and John Cassini about their life in France and various historical topics. Very interesting information. One thing that is hard to imagine is that this area was invaded by the Nazis during WWII. Several cities were bombed. You can tell driving through the small towns which ones sustained heavy bombing during the war. There are newer buildings mixed in with the very old ones. The Nazis had taken over Chateau D'Anger as well.

Van ride back to Angers. Everybody was pretty tired!



Lex and I had dinner at a Brasserie on the main street in Angers. Most of the crowd there was watching the Paris vs. Marchais soccer match. This was evidently a big game. We got a table outside. It was interesting watching the students returning from the weekend at home. Many students rolling their suitcases down the sidewalk back towards the university. Evidently, many students at Angers University stay on campus during the week, but travel home on weekends, returning on Sunday night. We later went to the Cuban bar to have a mojito made with Havana Club rum which is illegal in the states. They were great. Bar was empty since there were no TVs and therefore no soccer match. 



October 6, 2012- Arrival in France

Friday- October 5- depart Charlotte for direct flight to Charles de Gaulle - Paris, 4:30 pm EST - Arrive in Paris - 6:30 am local time. 8 hour flight direct, loss of 6 hours from time change.  Dinner on the flight. Got a few hours of sleep.

Charles de Gaulle airport is very large and very modern.  Buildings are all glass and you can see passengers inside on many levels. Know immediately we are in Europe as people look and dress very differently. We practice our French from many years ago and are pleasantly surprised that we are able to order sandwiches from a small shop in "mostly" French.

Have several hours to wait until we catch to TGV to Angers at 9:48 am.

Aboard TGV to Angers, I am able to sleep for a couple hours. Arrive in Angers at 12 noon . We are greeted by French students from Angers University.

Check into our room at Sejours et Affaires hotel apartments near the university.



Cathedral in Angers



Barely have time to get situated when we are met by French students to go on at our of the city. My first impression is that this city is really old. We visit the Catholic Cathedral in town which dates from the 1500's. Also visited Chateau D'Angers from 1100's. Unfortunately the rain really picked up during our tour.  

Angers Cathedral



Street scene in Angers



Chateau D'Angers





We went to eat at local Crepparie restaurant for dinner. Have a 4 course crepe dinner which is delicious, but we are all ready for bed as we have not had a real night's sleep in over 36 hours.

Finally to bed for much needed rest. Happy to be in France but exhausted from a very long days travel.