by Katrina
The final day in Geneva started off with a grand tour of the United Nations Buildings – Palais des Nations. This was an awe inspiring tour that really showed the delegates what they, as individuals belonging to a united front, have the potential to achieve in the future. The buildings themselves are enriched with history, with some parts dating back to the League of Nations. The Directors were extremely proud of our delegates this year, who were constantly able to provide answers to questions posed by our guide and to further pose their own interesting questions!
The Easyjet flight to Paris went well, with all bags and delegates arriving safely. Kat, Helen and David had organised shuttles from Paris Orly which took us directly to our Hotel – a quaint little Parisian place in Pigalle. The district certainly has a lot of character (being located near to Moulin Rouge!) but is obviously one of the “it” places to stay, given the number of other school groups and older groups also staying at the Hotel.
A buffet breakfast started us all in good stead, before we caught the Metro into the centre of Paris. We were able to walk around a bit, before catching our hop on and hop off bus outside the Louvre. This was a great experience as it really gave us a feel of where everything in Paris was in relation to other things. We were able to see and hear commentary about the Eiffel Tower, Champ de Mars, the Louvre, Notre Dame, Musee d’Orsay, the Opera, Champs Elysees, the Grand Palace and Trocadero – without getting wet in the rain!
The Delegation jumped off the bus near the Eiffel Tower and, once there, climbed several stairs to reach the top in order to witness the breathtaking views of Paris. One of the highlights of the day proved to be the ice skating that took place near the top of the Tower. To the Directors’ relief, there were no ice skating casualties or falls off the side! This activity was followed by a Parisienne lunch near to the Tower, where all of the delegates enjoyed a long, lazy, French-style meal.
The afternoon was taken up by a visit to the New Zealand Embassy and a chance to meet the Ambassador. This was particularly beneficial this year, as she had previously been located at the United Nations in New york for four years (having only been posted to Paris in September). We were all lucky to hear some of her insights into daily UN life, as well as to receive her input on life as a foreign diplomat and a representative of New Zealand. Both the Ambassador, Rosemary, and Victoria (a previous Model UN Delegate and great enthusiast of THIMUN) provided the delegates with an amazing amount of information to aid them on their Committee positions at THIMUN. We were very lucky to be privy to the kind of frank information that they passed on to the delegates, and the amount of information and view points that they were willing to share.
Kat, David and Helen then lead the group to the Arc d’ Triomphe – which is absolutely breathtaking at night. We managed to get several very good photos of the boys and girls in the group, before heading back towards Pigalle.
Once back in Pigalle, Kat and Helen took the delegates out for a French meal at the Chat Noir (or “Black Cat”). Here the delegates had some time after dinner to explore a little and wander past the lights of Moulin Rouge.
Photos for the day (and more on Paris) to follow shortly!
