INSEAD Summer Ball 2011

First stop en route back to Canada: Paris/Fontainebleau for the INSEAD Summer Ball.

You know when your lunch bill for five people comes to 350 euros, of which only 22 is food and the remainder champagne, that it is going to be a good, good night.

That is how my INSEAD reunion began. Liz, Roy, Laura, Kayvan and I, back together for the first time since our New Years Eve celebration in Prague. We would get through another magnum of champagne and some fresh bread, cheese, and meats for the train journey to Fontainebleau.

Friends came in from Dubai, London, Hanoi, Amsterdam, Cape Town, Milan, Casablanca and New York for the occasion. As far as I can tell, there was no other promotion (but for the current class, who all live here) that had such strong representation. Not even the guys having official reunions could boast those numbers. I really feel that our year was something special.

This time, the Summer Ball was at the Chateau. What an amazing venue. Last week, I was drinking instant coffee out of a plastic cup at a caravan park. This week I'm drinking champagne out of a proper glass at a Napoleons old digs.

I love my life!