Skate Trip Recap: Paris, France

Right before Thanksgiving break, our skate team travelled to Paris, France to meet industry professionals, skate iconic locations, eat too many chocolate croissants, and enjoy the beautiful culture. In the words of skate student Cam Hickey, here is how the trip went:

”Paris was one of the most exciting trips I’ve ever taken, mostly because it was my first time flying overseas to a different country. The plane ride was very unpleasant, and I didn’t get a minute of sleep, but it was okay since we took our first day slow and easy. Everybody was essentially sleepwalking that day, so as soon as we got to the Airbnb, we crashed.

The first full day was amazing and packed with activities. We woke up and found our breakfast spot for the week, which had some tasty pastries and sandwiches. It was a bit wet that morning, so we decided to just walk by the most famous skatepark in Paris, named République, which is conveniently located on top of a subway station. We then hopped on the train and went to the Eiffel Tower. Seeing it for the first time was surreal because it was something I had only imagined seeing in a movie. We took some photos and continued to a flat bar spot with an incredible view in the background. It was just about dry enough to get a few tricks in, and then we moved on to more sights throughout the day, such as the Arc de Triomphe and Tokyo Plaza, which has some very satisfying ground for skating. We ended the day back at République, since it was dry, and watched a few amazing skaters do their thing.

The next day was rainy again, so we left our boards at the Airbnb and went sightseeing. We visited Notre Dame, which was packed with people since it had recently reopened after the fire. Then we made our way to the Louvre, which was one of my favorite moments of the trip. The halls seemed endless, filled with artifacts older than the U.S. and the most famous paintings in the world, including the Mona Lisa and The Last Supper. That night, we had gelato that was so good it still makes my mouth water just thinking about it, and we got a good night’s sleep.

The following days were jam-packed with skating at street spots and endless plazas. We also hit a lot more shops, which was awesome for seeing the different vibes in Paris. My favorite shop was Le39, where some of us students and the homies from the shop did a back to back line that got a lot of likes on Instagram. 

One morning, after my board had snapped, I needed to set up a new one, but it was so cold I could barely feel my fingers. Since I’m not great at gripping boards, I kept messing up, and huge chunks of grip tape would rip off because of the cold. Eventually, I had Brian grip it while I set up my board in Starbucks, which felt very American of me.

One night, we decided to skate longer, so we took a long, packed train ride to a huge indoor park. The features were a little funky, but the mini mega ramp in the back made up for it. On our last day, we skated at my favorite spot of the trip: Tokyo Plaza. The ground, the ledges, the rail, everything was perfect, and it was so much fun to skate there.

On our final morning, we woke up very early and caught another long train ride to the airport. The terminal our flight was in was one of the bougiest places I had ever seen, with Prada, Gucci, Burberry, Dior, and more. It felt like a palace until we got on the plane, which turned out to be one of the most unpleasant flights I’ve ever had. Once again, I didn’t get a minute of sleep, probably because I can only fall asleep with a window seat to rest my head on.

Overall, the trip to Paris was one of the most amazing trips I’ve ever been on, despite the few challenges toward the end. The experiences I had there make me eager to go back to Europe next summer to skate and explore even more.”