A Whirlwind Week -- Parisian Style !

This week has been a whirlwind! We are now halfway done with our internships and more than halfway through our visit in Paris. Sitting on a bench on the Champs Elysées, enjoying a traditional Parisian delicacy, otherwise known to the entire world as Häagen-Dazs, Olivia and I bewilderedly attempted to remember what has happened in the last week.

In the lab at the Curie, I have been working with a PhD student Maddalena Nado, who is doing research with fruit flies. She has taught me namely how to separate the brain of a larva from the rest of it body (see photo below), how to prepare and use stains to help identify different organelles, parts of the cell, and how to make and analyze mini movies from images captured by a laser microscope. It has been so fun and engaging working with Madda and all of her colleagues in the lab.

Not only has work taught me new scientific knowledge this past week, but it has also given me practical advice. For example, what does one do during an hour long lunch break by themselves? How about, walk down the street to a Boulangerie, grab a sandwich, and then head to the Luxembourg Gardens to enjoy lunch while reading a book. How does one find the metro after confidently yet obliviously making the wrong turn? Consult your best friend, Paris Practique, complete with a map of each arrondissement, or neighborhood, a street directory, and the metro layout. Why does the taxi strike affect the metro trains? Who knows? Everyone wants a break I guess. Just remember, as Ms. de Horsey says, personal space and oxygen must be sacrificed for the sake of time.

Now that we are “working girls” as our host father puts it, we can partially grasp why our parents seem so dead and grouchy after arriving home from work.  After work, the main and sometimes only event of each day, we stumble home on foot or via metro and immediately crash after a delicious dinner, courtesy of our host mother.

Though the days can be exhausting, due to work or to clocking our new high of 15 miles in one day, everything has been worth the while! How much more can we fit in during this last week? Stay tuned to find out!

-Sophie 

"The photograph is a brain lobe taken from a fruit fly larvae that has been dissected and immunostained for centrosomes (the yellow dots), then Tubulin to see the microtubule cytoskeleton in red and then the DNA in blue. We look at fruit flies to understand the basic mechanisms that regulate cell proliferation during development. Since most important genes are conserved from fruit flies to men, we hope that our findings will contribute to understanding the basic principles underlying cell and tissue organisation."
Renata Basto, Group Leader of Biology of Centrosomes and Cilia, Institut Curie, Paris

The City of Lights, the City of Love is forever in our hearts and the soles of our shoes !

Coucou je suis ici! I’m back and SO much has happened over the course of the semaine. To start off I started my internship on Monday at NLB Conseil, an executive search firm in Paris specializing in luxury goods and cosmetics. I was nervous on Monday morning as I walked to work, but I am so happy to be there because I am surrounded by positive faces and attitudes every day. Even though I have only been there for a week, I have learned and witnessed so much of the “head-hunting” process. Before my internship, I never thought about how a multi-millionaire dollar company interviews for their new Director of Public Relations or their new CEO, but from this experience I now know the procedure. I am so glad to be working at NLB Conseil because I know French business conversational skills and business in general. I am so lucky to be in Paris and even luckier to be working in Paris!

The days are long, tiring, and very hot because of the heat wave in Paris but the hours spent in the cool office are productive and fun. My dream was to work and live in Paris and I have successfully fulfilled my rêve. Although the internship has only been two weeks, I can say that I know Paris well enough to come back for two months, two years or more! It has been an amazing experience and I can’t believe that it is my last week here.  I am comfortable with my daily route to work and either looking at the Arc de Triomphe or la Défense that view is unlike any other on the planet.

Even though Sophie and I are working, we still have had time to discover Paris after work. Sophie and I climbed to the top of the Arc de Triomphe last Wednesday on a beautiful Parisian day! The view from the top was phenomenal and it was absolutely breathtaking!  On Thursday night, we all ate at an amazing steak-frites place right down the road, l’Entrecôte. I have nothing to compare it to because the steak-frites elsewhere are not even close to the restaurant dans le dix-septième arrondissement. After dinner, Sophie, Madame de Horsey, and I went to Hôtel de Banville and watched Madame de Horsey’s friend, Marianne, the owner sing and perform. This week has been so enjoyable at work, the night at the hotel, and our time with our host family. We have enjoyed our week in the office and the lab and are ready for another one!

Although our last days in Paris are approaching and the heat is rising, Sophie and I will not stop discovering Paris à pied. Tourists come to France from all over the world and are exhausted at noon, contrary to public belief Sophie and I are not les touristes anymore but Parisiennes. Our feet are numb from walking more than forty miles over the course of the deux semaines, however we are not finished yet! Paris defeats tourists with its beauty, a copious amount of museums and monuments, dozens and dozens of stores, and miles to cover in a short period of time, but Sophie and I successfully defeated Paris (it is still standing). Ne vous inquietez-vous pas, Paris on revient (Don’t worry Paris, we will be back)!

The City of Lights, the City of Love is forever in our hearts and the soles of our shoes.

À plus tard,

Olivia Vitton

SG’16

Views of Paris by Olivia

View from the top of the Arc de Triomphe

View of Sacré Coeur

View of le Sénat in the Luxembourg Gardens

View of macarons and Angélina's famous hot chocolat

Never Stop Exploring !

Filled with fantastic food and glamorous style, Paris is alive with so much to explore! After our first week our feet best understand the amount of traveling we have done. Working up our way up the ranks Olivia and I ended our first week by walking a half marathon, with a few stops along the way.

To ensure that we set foot in every single piece of Paris, we have visited a plethora of sites and plan to use any of our future free time to fully execute this goal. The the Archeological Crypt at Notre Dame taught us about the history of Paris, while the dome of the Sacré Coeur presented us with a bird’s eye view of the city. We were able to rack up our mile count climbing to the top of the dome and strolling along the Seine, Champs Elysées, and by the President’s Palace, where an officer gave us a tour of how to best avoid its gates. In the vast luxurious, well-provided Luxembourg Gardens and Monet’s picturesque home base in Giverny, we found peace and quiet amid the bustle of the city. This past Sunday the Fête de la Musique, a country wide celebration of music, captured Paris. When we weren’t scrambling through dense crowds finding our way, we enjoyed beautiful music, from classical to dance to African folk. The previous day, trekking long and hard, we traveled to the Marais to provision for our own delicious dinner, just like our hunter-gatherer ancestors. With the practice and advice we gained from the tastiest markets we had been to, our palates deemed our mission a success.  Just as our culinary talents have grown, we’ve mastered the Parisian métro and the art of map reading.  I’ll find out if this is really true on my first solo trip to work.
In conclusion, The North Face describes our adventures perfectly:  Never Stop Exploring.

In between adventures, Olivia and I started our internships on Monday. At the Curie Institut began by meeting lots of smiling, excited, research aficionados. Based on their insight and knowledge I will be learning a lot over the course of the next two weeks.

Until I am bestowed with awe inspiring wisdom,

Sophie Williams SG ’16

Week 1: Getting to know Paris !

Bonjour et bienvenue à Paris! Even though I have only been in Paris for a week I am more confident in my metro abilities and discovering the city by myself. I was nervous about managing the metro system but I am now a metro master and know which lines go to the Eiffel Tour or Notre Dame. The days have been busy and filled with exciting visits to museums or simply the opportunity to discover Saint Germain, the Marais, or the 17th arrondissement (where we live with our host family, the de Varax) by ourselves. Besides getting around the city, Sophie and I would consider ourselves experts in people watching and how to choose the perfect café or boulangerie.

I knew that I would be walking all over Paris, but I did not expect that I would walk a half marathon in one day and eleven miles the day before. Instead of trying to have the perfect outfit with the perfect shoes, my feet and I have decided that my Supergas are better than my Jack Rogers. Luckily I wore my sneakers when I climbed the Sacré Coeur yesterday and Montmartre’s “slight” incline is an understatement but the view was spectacular and so was the calf work out. The sun was out and there was not one cloud in the blue sky.  I saw everything from the beautiful white basilica-the Eiffel Tour, les Invalides, Notre Dame, Saint Sulpice, and musicians sharing their talent with Paris as they celebrated Fête de la Musique. Needless to say, my short time in Paris has been extensive and I have visited new areas of Paris that were unfamiliar to me before.

Of course there is so much more to experience in Paris than the countless monuments or museums, but to live the daily life as a Parisian. On Saturday, Sophie and I sat in the Luxembourg Gardens and people watched behind our sunglasses. The casualness is so Parisian and as we walked throughout the park, we admired some statues and flowers. Besides sitting in parks, we have enjoyed our “expérience gastronomique” , which has been amazing, how could it not be? We had delicious chocolat-chaud at Angélina and macarons at Ladurée but the smell of fresh baguettes and croissants from the boulangeries has been mind-blowing. We learned about French cheeses, chocolates and award winning prizes for the best éclair or baguette in 2010 or 2012. Our acclimation week has set in because we have all the tools to find a good lunch or how to get home.

Paris is more than the City of Lights, but of experiences, sore feet, shopping, delicious food, and work. The city is not as intimidating as it seems to be from a birds-eye view and is easier to navigate than one thinks. I am so glad to have two weeks left to explore this magnificent city!

À bientôt,

Olivia Vitton
SG’16

27,751 steps !

We had an epic day of exploring Paris on Sunday -- nearly all on foot !  From Sacré Coeur to Place St. Georges to Palais Royal to Place Vendôme, to St. Germain and St. Michel to the Marché aux Fleurs de Reine Elisabeth to Châtelet.  We crossed the Seine twice :  at the Pont Léopold Senghor and then at the Pont St. Michel.  By the end of our ten hour day, the girls had clocked 27,751 steps (13.37 miles!) to my 24, 589 steps (11.4 miles)!  They got an earlier start than I did yesterday and paid a visit to the Palais de l'Elysée, home of French President François Hollande (he was not receiving guests and they were asked politely to not get so close!).  It was a beautiful day and we ended up meandering our way from Sacré Coeur (via Place St. Georges!) to St. Germain and the Latin Quarter to have dinner and enjoy the Fête de la Musique.  The entire country celebrates music in its many forms on this day each year.  Throughout St. Germain and the Latin Quarter, we saw classical music, jazz trios, drums, techno and rock -- all as we walked through the streets.  Musicians set up in parks, on the street, in restaurants and cafés -- you can't go more than a few feet without the genre changing.  It was a festive day to celebrate Father's Day and the Summer Solstice!  We didn't get home too late because Olivia and Sophie begin their internships tomorrow - it's a big day and they are ready, having become acclimated to the city this past week.  As we visit the different areas of the city, Olivia and Sophie are taking note of their "perfect Parisian apartment".  At this point, the list is growing and the top apartment is on the corner of Rue de Vaugirard and rue Guynemar, overlooking the Jardin du Luxembourg!

Some photos from our Parisian Adventures

Sophie and Olivia "goûte" the delicious saucisse d'Auvergne during our Paris by Mouth gastronomic tour.

                                       

A magnificent floral stairway on the rue Monge.

Olivia and Sophie at the wine shop with the Sauvignon Blanc grape juice that was paired for us with the goat cheese tasting.  It is goat cheese season- did you know there is a season for goat cheese?  There is and it's now!  It runs from Spring to Fall -- when the milk is the best.  One of the many interesting facts we learned during our food tour!  My favorite was the Saint-Nicolas, a goat cheese from the Languedoc region that has a subtle thyme taste because the goat's graze on wild thyme.                                      

Sophie and Olivia enjoying their thé à la menthe Marocain

                                                    at the Mosquée de Paris.

Anand, top PhD student at the Curie, explains about pipetting.

                                       

Group photo in Graça Raposa's lab.  Left to right : Sophie Williams, Emmeline Heaney, Leslie Heaney, Jacqueline Legras, Graça Raposo, Allison de Horsey, Olivia Vitton

Day 2: Visit at the Curie Institute

Today we spent some more time in the Quartier Latin, beginning at the Botanical Garden, the Jardin des Plantes.  We saw varities of all sorts of flowers in the gardens from all over world and the tropical greenhouses are magnificent.  We then went across the street to the Mosquée de Paris where we had a traditional Morocain mint tea.  There is a beautiful courtyard and nice to go for tea, lunch or dinner.

Next was a rendez-vous at the Panthéon where we met Chair of the Board of Trustees, Leslie Heaney '92 and her daughter Emmeline, who have been in Paris for ten days with their family.  We took them to the Institut Curie which is right around the corner from the Panthéon.  It was an opportunity for Sophie to see where she'll be working and gave Olivia, Leslie and Emmeline an idea about what's going on at the Curie as well.  We had a very warm welcome from Graça Raposo and Jacqueline Legras.  They introduced us to some of the scientists in the lab - most are PhD students are various stages.  We met Anand who is from India and was recently named the top student at the Curie.  Graça and the lab are very proud of him and his accomplishments!  We also met Guillaume who is in the process of writing a paper to be published.  He'll be sending me the paper and its abstract to edit in the coming days.  Most of the scientists have English as a second language, but they publish their papers in English.  I have offered to edit their English for them as a way to contribute and give back to the Curie.

Graça's lab works on exosomes -- skin pigmentation.  They have partnered with Clarins to do research which resulted in a new product called Mission Perfection, a cream that helps unify the skin's pigmentation.  I helped edit a paper they wrote that contained the research that Clarins funded and used to develop Mission Perfection.  Interestingly, when I looked at the description of the cream on the Clarins site, I noticed that the Institut Curie was not named, only a "world renowned research center".  All interesting bits of knowledge to learn and discuss with the students about how the research informs and leads to a product in this case, but no credit or mention of the Institut Curie by name.  I'm sure there's a very specific reason for that and we'll find out why!

GCIP-Paris 2015

It's hard to believe that this is GCIP-Paris' 6th year!  This year we have a small group in Paris, Olivia Vitton '17 and Sophie Williams '17.  We have a lot planned and they each have fantastic internships that begin next Monday June 22nd until July 3rd.

Sophie will intern at the Curie Institute.  She'll be in the Biology of Centrosomes and Cilia Unit under the direction of Group Leader Renata Basto.  If you'd like to read more about this unit, you can find the link at the end of this entry.  Last night I had dinner with our Curie contacts, Jacqueline Legras and Graça Raposo.  They are happy to welcome Sophie to the Institute this summer!  We are also working on some future collaborations with the Curie and St. George's.  More on that when I have some details in place!

Olivia will be interning at NLB Conseil Executive Search.  NLB Conseil is one of our internship partners and was founded by my good friend Nathalie Lambert.  We met when she came to live with my family on an exchange some 30+ years ago!  Olivia will be working with Nathalie and some other NLB colleagues on a number of interesting projects.  One of them will be a recruitment "mission" for a well-known French luxury company known for its handbags.  Next week Olivia will also go to a breakfast at Bain and Co.  Bain and Co.'s Senior Director of EMEA Consumer Products, Retail and Luxury Practice, Joelle de Montgolfier, will discuss the state of the luxury sector.  This is sponsored by l'ESSEC Business School Alumni Association and will expose Olivia to a relevant topic for her work as well as a number of top executives from other luxury companies.

This week is our time to explore Paris, visit the sites and different quartiers, learn the métro system and become acclimated to the city so that they can get themselves to their respective internships next week.  Sophie and Olivia are also settling in with their host family, the de Varax family.  They have four boys and live in the 17th arrondissement, not too far from the Arc de Triomphe.

Day 1 (Tuesday) was focused on the Latin Quarter. We went to the Mémorial des Martyres de la Déportation which is behind Notre Dame.  This is a moving memorial to the French Jews who were deported and killed in concentration camps during WWII.  We also visited the Crypte Archéologique located at Notre Dame.  This museum traces the evolution of the city of Paris and is fascinating.  After a lunch of crêpes on the Île Saint-Louis, we headed to a favorite book shop across from Notre Dame - Shakespeare and Company - where I bought Sophie and Olivia copies of Hemingway's A Moveable Feast.  This classic was written during Hemingway's time in Paris and references a number of landmarks that we'll visit in the next few weeks.

Next we wended our way to la rue Mouffetard, a lively street in the 5th arrondissement with shops and markets.  We took a gastronomic tour with Paris by Mouth.  I did this last year with Jake Westermann and Susie Keller (a former student of theirs was our tour guide) and it was fabulous!  It's a great way to learn about the gastronomic history behind cheese, charcuterie, pasteries, and chocolate.  Our guide, Meg Zimbeck, took us to some highly acclaimed shops and explained what terms like Maître Ouvrier, Affineur and AOC mean.  We learned about the art of producing high quality food, the strict rules that apply in order to be considered high-quality and about the different regions as well.  After visiting the shops the tour ends at a wine shop that is set up for the group.  Wines are paired with the different foods that were collected during the walking portion of the tour, and further explanation of each cheese, charcuterie and pâtisserie is explained.  We do not partake in the wine tasting but instead, Meg served us a grape juice that was made with Sauvignon Blanc grapes, just like the Sancerre the others were drinking.  It's a wonderful experience and I highly recommend it to anyone who loves good food and would like to learn more about the gastronomic history of French food!  I have added the Paris by Mouth link below so you can take a look - it's a great site and is full of excellent food and restaurant information.  Another note :  when we were on our tour, Meg knew that we had been to Shakespeare and Company and had bought A Moveable Feast.  It just so happened that we passed Hemingway's apartment that he describes in the book!  If you look closely at the photo of Sophie and Olivia above, you'll see that the sign says Under Hemingway's!  

More later from all of us!

Links :

Centrosomes and Cilia Unit :  http://umr144.curie.fr/en/research-groups/biology-centrosomes-and-cilia-renata-basto/biology-centrosomes-and-cilia-00180

NLB Conseil Executive Search :  http://www.nlbconseil.com/

Paris by Mouth :  http://parisbymouth.com/