Holiday

Took two days off following the Prague trip and took myself off to Paris. I’ve had no holiday this year and needed to eat and sleep without worrying about deadlines or organising staff.

So I cashed in some air miles and went to one of my favourite cities in the world. Paris reeks of history, with a subtle undertone of dog shit. The food is marvellous, the architecture stunning and the people delightfully rude.

It’s been twenty years since I and my then fiancé visited for the first time. We ate hot chicken from market stalls, roamed catacombs filled with ancient bones and rode the elevator to the top of the Eiffel Tower and felt it sway in the wind.

I’ve been back many times over the years but usually on business. It was nice to do the things I’d always meant to without knowing I'm bunking off. I saw the Mona Lisa, which was surprisingly small and grubby, and wandered through the Palace of Versailles – a perfect example of what you can achieve by screwing millions of peasants out of their hard earned francs.

All in all it was heavenly. Proper French bread for example just can’t be found outside France, the oysters were superb and I defy anyone not to light a cigarette and look moody when sitting at a pavement café. I’m going to miss it.