Paris

Fat Tire Bike Tours

Entreprenurial Spirit: A Discussion with David Mebane

We invite you to join us as we hear from the Founder and CEO of Fat Tire Bike Tours discuss the path he took to international success.

When: Tuesday, February 21, 2012
Where: Legacy Events Room, McCombs School of Business
Time: 4pm

This Event is Free and Open to the Public

Can't make it to the lecture? Watch it streaming LIVE !

In 1999, David Mebane founded Fat Tire Bike Tours an American owned and operated company offering English-speaking travelers an informative and entertaining guide of several European cities, including Paris. Today, Fat Tire Bike Tours is the largest city bicycle tour company in Europe. In 2003 Mebane launched a service to offer tours on Segways and today operates in several U.S. cities and throughout Europe (City Segway Tours). In 2005, he branched out into walking tours with Classic Walks Paris. In 2009, in partnership with the Texas A&M, Mays School of Business, Mebane opened Spoons, a successful yogurt shop in College Station, Texas. Mebane is a graduate of Texas A&M University. He resides in Texas with his wife and 2 kids.

"I think so many people think they should do this or that but the percentage of people who actually do it are slim...I wanted students to see, hey, you can really take your ideas and make them happen." -David Mebane

Country Profile

France

Official Name: Republique Francaise (French Republic), France
Capital: Paris
Population: France proper-65,312,249; Paris-10,410,000
Nationality: French
Ethnic Groups: Celtic and Latin with Teutonic, Slavic, North African, Indochinese, Basque minorities
Religion: Roman Catholic 83%-88%, Protestant 2%, Jewish 1%, Muslim 5%-10%, unaffiliated 4%
Languages: French (official) 100%, rapidly declining regional dialects and languages (Provencal, Breton, Alsatian, Corsican, Catalan, Basque, Flemish)
Government: Republic
Local currency: Euro
Bordering countries: Andorra, Belgium, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, Monaco, Spain, Switzerland
Size/Comparative Size: Total Area of France proper - 643,801 sq km; France is slightly less than the size of Texas

Map of Paris, France

Entertainment

The Luxembourg Gardens
This is one of the biggest and most beautiful parks in Paris. This garden is famous for its soothing atmosphere and has everything from apple orchards to a vintage carousel. There is also a small café with both indoor and outdoor seating. Perfect place to relax or study!

Versailles
This day trip is definitely worth the effort, just wear comfortable walking shoes. Versailles is a wealthy suburb of Paris and is famous for the Palace of Versailles. All of our former students highly recommend taking a trip here!

Notre Dame Cathedral
This cathedral is one of the most famous landmarks in Paris. The coronation of Napoleon was held here in 1804 and even if you are not into history, the architecture will amaze you. You can walk around inside the cathedral and also go up to the top for a great view.

Fat Tire Bike Tour
Every student we asked said this was one of their best experiences in Paris. These tours are targeted towards English speaking tourists and former students recommend taking the night tour. This is a great way to learn about Paris.

Galeries Lafayette
A good place to go shopping with tons of different stores. Even though it can be expensive, it is definitely worth a visit!

Travel

Amsterdam, Netherlands
Amsterdam has canals that lead to beautiful scenery. Take a canal cruise to relax and see some of Amsterdam’s sights through the maze of canals in the city. There are also many art museums such as Amsterdam’s Historisch Museum. At this museum, unusual objects make up the art pieces to map the last eight centuries of the city. Amsterdam is also known for its cozy coffee shops so be sure to stop by a few. The fastest way to travel in Amsterdam is by bike. Consider renting a bike for the weekend to get around to all the places the city has to offer!

London, England, UK
While in London, be sure to make it to Buckingham’s Palace at least one day at 11:30 a.m. to watch the changing of the guard. Also, visit West Piazza of Covent Garden Market to see street performers who have passed an audition to perform there. At night, hop on the London Eye to get a good view of the city.

Barcelona, Spain
While in Spain, be sure to stroll down a world-famous boulevard called La Ramba. There you will find many street performers, street vendors, and much more entertainment. Go to a pintxo bar such as Euskal Etxea where you will be served finger foods which you eat with toothpicks. You are then charged by how many toothpicks you used to eat the food. Another fun thing to do while in Spain is go to a football (soccer) match at the Nou Camp Stadium.

Transportation

Transportation from the Airport
You will most likely arrive at Charles de Gaulle Airport (CDG). This airport is also known as Roissy and is located 23 kilometres (14 miles) north-east of Paris. When you exit baggage claim into the main hall of the airport, follow signs for SNCF/RER. You will take Line B, the only line that serves the airport, and get off at Gare du Nord. At Gare du Nord you will change to Line 5, direction Place d’Italie. Then you will get off at République and change to Line 8, direction Créteuil-Préfecture. You will then get off at Montgallet. When you exit the metro station you will be on Rue de Reuilly.

The Résidence Vivaldi is at 102 Rue de Reuilly. The residence is in the 12e arrondissement between the metro stops Montgallet and Daumesnil on line 8. A ticket for the RER costs about 8 Euros and can be purchased at the guichets (windows) near where the train leaves. You can also take a taxi (approx. €40 – 50) or hire an airport shuttle.

Transportation within Paris
Métro (within Paris city limits) - are designated by numbers. You find your line by the destination (the last stop on the line). Vous prenez le métro direction “Porte d’Orléans”.

RER – light rail system that serves the suburbs of Paris, stops within Paris as well, RER lines are designated by letters (A, B, C, D, E). This is what you will take to/from the airport.

Buses - Buses will also take you anywhere in Paris and are a nice way to explore the city. The 46 bus goes directly to the ESCP-EAP.

Metro/RER/Bus passes (weekly or monthly) available and are cheaper than buying tickets every day. Your metro pass is good for the metro as well as buses. Maps are also available in any Metro/RER stations. Most of you will want to purchase a Carte Orange.

More Info: www.parisinfo.com

Dorms

Students typically reside in dorms within Paris. In the past, students have stayed at a traditional French dorm a short walk from ESCP Europe. Students share rooms and bathrooms with other CIBER program participants.

Tips from Past Participants

Spend some time studying basic French before your departure, knowing some basic conversational French can be very helpful getting around in Paris
Research and understand the need for converters and transformers for your electronic devices to avoid damage if used incorrectly
People loved the cultural excursions; schedule your time in order to attend all of them!
Third year MPAs attending the courses may find it difficult to adjust and compete against fourth and fifth year students in the classes
French people would prefer to speak French to you, and may not want to speak English to you even if you would like them to speak English to you. Please don’t be offended by this, and try your best to use a phrase book and attempt to speak French even when asking for the smallest things. People are more friendly if you at least attempt to speak French to them initially.
There are differences in teaching styles in the local course – they only administered one exam at the end of the 5 weeks, and some material may be challenging and involves European IFRS rules and concepts that may be brand new to you.
Wi-fi access was not provided in the dorms (summer 11) but you can buy internet from the Orange for a good deal and find wifi hotspots around town
A lot of the IFRS material may seem inapplicable to you as a student from the U.S., however, knowing IFRS will be very useful in your future career. Try your best to look past the initial learning barrier and embrace unknown
Teaching styles will vary, and culture can come across really strong through the local professors’ teaching styles.