On Sunday 26th March, forty-one 2nd year students and their four leaders Ms Whelan, Ms McGowran, Mr McManus and Mr McGonigle gathered in Dublin Airport to embark on their 4 day adventure to Paris.
As recounted by some of the students themselves…
We had to meet just outside the Bureau de Change in the Departures area at 5am in the morning, feeling a little bit sleepy. Thankfully everyone turned up on time (despite the clocks going forward) and we were soon on our way. We were given instructions by our teachers and told to go through security. We arrived in Beauvais airport and found our coach and coach driver Jimmy, who drove us straight into central Paris. Our bus driver Jimmy was very kind and brought us everywhere over the next few days. Jack Whelan
On our first day in Paris, we went to the Arc de Triomphe where there was some sort of military commemoration with Greek flags taking place. We had lunch in McDonalds and walked along the Champs Elysées soaking up the atmosphere. Evan Rothwell
The Bateaux Mouches was the next excursion on that first day. We had been walking along the Champs Elysées and were all ready for a nice boat ride along the River Seine. Our bus took the scenic route to get to the boarding quay. The seats on the boat were like bus seats, arranged all in straight rows on a sheltered floor and an open-topped deck. We started our journey about 100-200m away from the Eiffel Tower. We went in the opposite direction and saw places like Notre Dame Cathedral and the River Seine’s many beautiful bridges, before coming back to see the Eiffel Tower at the end. Paddy Rochford
After that we made our way to the Explorers Hotel near Disneyland, which would be our home from home for the next three nights. We checked in and discovered our rooms which were very good. It was great fun to stay in the rooms with our friends. Daniel Doyle
The following morning we went to Disneyland for the whole day. Disneyland was very crowded and very big. The rides were fun and the shops were nice. Some of our favourite rides were Star Wars Hyperspace Mountain and the Tower of Terrors. The night-time lights and firework show were amazing and we enjoyed the music too. Dylan Griffin
On Tuesday morning we were scheduled to go up the Eiffel Tower. But we weren’t allowed to climb it due to the strikes that were happening in Paris that day. At least we could walk around underneath where there is a path to a beautiful pond with some ducks in it. There was also a café that sold the best waffles. The next day we were finally allowed to climb to the top. It took about 10 minutes to climb the stairs to the first and second floors and thankfully there was a lift to the top after that. On the top there is a little shop that sells champagne and caviar and there are majestic views over the entire city of Paris beneath. Tyler Murray
Val d’Europe is the largest shopping centre I’ve ever seen. My friend Dylan and I went around the entirety of the shopping centre. I got food in McDonald’s and went into shops not knowing what was in there because the names were all in French! There were lots of clothing, shoe, and perfume shops. Overall, I found Val d’Europe very enjoyable. Darragh Regan
We had a pizza and pool night in the hotel on the last night. The swimming pool in the Explorers Hotel was fantastic. It was quite big and had lots of fun things to do including 3 big slides and a play area. Everyone was queuing up for the dragon slide and the big yellow slide. We had hours of fun and didn’t want to come out of the water. Josh Murray
On the last day we went on a guided tour of the Stade de France. We split up into two groups to go on the tour and the tour guides talked about the history of the stadium and told us lots of interesting things. In the changing rooms, we got to sit on the benches where Zidane, Benzema and all the French football heroes hang their jerseys. Jayden McGrath
The return journey was just a bit of a bus drive to Beauvais Airport and we got through security pretty quickly. Boarding the plane took a while and everybody was sweating in the line – we were all happy but tired by that stage. Before we knew it the flight landed in Dublin, and it was good to be back home and reunited with family again after our great adventure. Keegan Reilly
Overall, it was a hugely successful trip. The 41 lads were impeccably behaved, extremely good humoured and an absolute pleasure to bring away. We the leaders enjoyed getting to know them better and helping them create memories for life.
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