DAY 6
Yesterday was quite the day. With the morning plans, the students had to be split up into two groups, so while the first group dragged themselves out of bed at an ungodly hour and tiptoed down the corridors in an attempt to be quiet, the second group got the luxury of sleeping for an hour or two longer. The reason for this split was that we couldn’t come all 80 somewhat students to visit Google at the same time.
When my group arrived, people were buzzing with excitement to see the famous HQ on Rue de Londres. While Google tries to be humble and down to earth, the experience of visiting them and meeting the two Googlers that hosted us was anything but. As we practically floated into the building, there was not much to do to keep our jaws from hanging. Just pure awe.
As the legendary company hosted us, they started by giving us a presentation, where the students were free to fire away all sorts of questions afterwards, followed by a session in which half of the students went over to see their showroom with all the latest or still-to-come gadgets. The other half of the students stayed in the presentation room and were told about Google Arts and Culture, both a website and an app, which, as the name suggests, is brimming to the edge with content on art and on culture. It’s hard to explain just how mind-boggling it was to see a digital representation of their 60 million artwork archive. We were sitting in front of a ‘mega-screen’ which basically was 20-odd screens all put together to create a huge digital wall. It was on this wall that the Googler showed some of the high-tech and insanely high quality images of famous artwork on their Arts and Culture program. These pictures that were shown to us where so high in quality that one can zoom in to the point of being able to see details in the paint that even the naked eye wouldn’t be able to see. You should almost try it for yourself – it can completely change your perspective! If you for example zoom in as much as you can on The Starry Night by Vincent Van Gogh in this link, you can actually see a lot of the canvas behind the many paint strokes. The strokes are fast and rough, and a lot of the color that you see in the painting is actually the beige color of the canvas that shines through between the gaps. One doesn’t realise this in any other pictures of the painting, but Google’s special photographical scan allows us to go that much deeper into understanding paintings that are ‘recorded’ in this way.
As for the rest of the day, I will hand over the writing baton to four of Summer@INSEAD’s students. They volunteered to hand in some pieces for this blog post, so you readers could hear their take on yesterday’s Parisian adventures.
Julia over and out.
Sweet-side of Paris Tour
(by Maricarmen Martinez)
My trip to Paris started very early in the morning, but that didn’t stop my excitement for the day ahead. I sat on the bus waiting patiently to arrive to the Google office in Paris. I didn’t know what to expect, but as soon as I walked in I was amazed. We all got our own badges with our names on them and proceeded to grab some food and drinks inside. I sat down waiting for the presentation to start. We heard from some very interesting people, but my favourite part in particular was playing a Kahoot quiz of Google with my classmates. After a competitive time spent answering these questions I had the opportunity to stay in the tech lab and learn more about Google’s latest technologies. I got to see how much a very advanced camera could zoom into the smallest details of a picture and was so amazed by the results. Then I got to discover a new technology in which you could draw a picture and then all the results matching the picture came up. Sadly, my visit at Google was over, but I got to leave impressed with the company and with a Google cardboard!
Chocolate, macaroons, and waffles…There’s nothing I’d rather do than spend my afternoon visiting the sweet side of Paris. After eating many desserts I was convinced that Paris was the best city to find high end food. I wanted to bring everything I tasted back to Toronto with me, but sadly the tour guide told me that wouldn’t be possible as it would melt. I enjoyed everything I tried and took notes of my favourite places so I could come back in the future. I was specifically impressed with a chocolatier called Patrick Roger. They sold amazing chocolates which are shown in the photo below. The image was one amazing thing about them, but the taste was so incredible that I wanted to buy more.
I can’t wait to go back to Paris to learn more about Google, but also to visit some of the best chocolate and pastry shops!
Marais Tour
(by Daniel Carmon)
Today was a very special day as for the first time since Sunday we did not have a day lecture course, instead we, the counsellors, and the course leaders took a day trip to France’s capital city, Paris. Now despite being only an hour or so away from Fontainebleau the two cities are almost complete opposites, Paris is a large and bustling metroplex of action and movement whilst Fontainebleau (or as it is fondly nicknamed “Fonty”) is a tiny town with very little in it apart from a few star attractions, one of these being the INSEAD campus.
Unfortunately for half the group (myself included) our day started really, really early. As we had a Google tour at 9:00 in the morning we had to leave the campus before 7:00, which meant waking up around 6:00 (6:00!!!). Everything ended up fine but it wasn’t the most pleasant start to the day.
Fortunately, everything improved once we got to Paris (half an hour early…) and we got to stretch our legs and even had time to go to a coffee shop to buy some refreshments.
During our 2 hours at the Google Cultural Institute we spent the first hour as part of a large group all together in which we got to listen to a fascinating talk by a pair of former INSEAD graduates followed by a Q&A session. We then split up further into two groups in which one got to stay (my group) in the room we were in and mess around with all kinds of cool new inventions such as an app which likens selfies to famous pieces of art and another similar one in which drawings are used. We also learned about Google’s gigapixel camera which they use to record paintings in amazing detail and ultra, super, mega HD quality. Meanwhile the other group went and got to mess around with Google home and all kinds of other cool home appliances such as a jacket and a couch which each had built in chargers and sound systems.
After this the other half of the students and leaders (who got to wake up after 6:00…) took over the institute and the rest of us travelled to an area in which we split up into small groups and explored, whilst simultaneously getting to eat our pre-packed lunches (which were provided to us by a catering minivan!).
Once the second half had finished their google experience we all met up and split up into our different Paris tours. I chose the Marais tour as I thought it would be an interesting experience to visit the former Jewish quarter (context: I’m Jewish). Though the tour didn’t end up including much in the way of Jewish history nor involvement it was still quite fascinating.
We “got” to walk (a lot…) around the Marais area and see all kinds of interesting and sombre sights such as a memorial both to the fallen French and to those who helped the Jews escape Europe during WW2, followed by a visit to a massive church built centuries ago (one of the only churches in Paris built by a single architect).
We continued on through the area visiting the local sites and the parks whilst learning the area’s history as well as how this old marshland and slum area became one of the most beautiful places in all of Paris, we even learned that “Le Marais” actually means “The Swamp”.
During the tour, we also saw some sweet street art and a very amusing grate shaped like a face.
Nearing the end of the tour more exhausted then excited we stopped at a Lebanese ice-cream spot (not trying to intrude on the sweet-side of Paris tour, but it was pretty damn good…) at la “Glace Bachier” a trendy spot located in the heat of the Marais area. After eating we eagerly returned to the bus for some well-deserved rest time.
Unfortunately, (or maybe not so), as all things go, we had to have some troubles at some point and today it had to happen on the bus. Someone (who will rename nameless) somehow managed to get stuck in the bathroom on the bus for a whopping nearly 1/2 an hour. We did manage to get him / her out but it was a very amusing struggle to watch.
The trip ended late which meant that, despite everybody wanting to return to their rooms as were all tired and ready to nap we didn’t get to. Instead we only got to rest “post-dinner”. The day was amazing but I am not ashamed to say that my favorite part was getting to finally lie down in my bed and sleep.
Best of Paris Tour
(by Elizaveta Beltyukova)
Today on the Best of Paris tour, what really stood out to me is the passion the French seem to have for art. As we went past the different beautiful structures, I kept thinking how artistic and passionate these people are. For example, there is enough paintings in the Louvre to be entertained for 4 months, and the number of sculptures cannot be counted in a day. The tour guide talked about how many Parisians disapprove of any new structures that are built at first, but start to appreciate it after a couple of years. I think that shows how the locals want art to be created for a reason, like to honor a king, and the new added art has to gain its importance to the city with time. In addition, I was deeply impressed by the amount of kings represented on horseback that are seen almost everywhere.
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The Dark Side of Paris Tour
(by Harrison Jones)