Work and Play in Paris - from La Golf National to the Eiffel Tower

Paris - aka the City of Lights. It's been a few years since I have been to this city so I was happy to be going back, albeit for work. My first trip was many years ago in my 'gap year' then back and forth in subsequent years for long weekends and day trips on the Eurostar.

I had already done a lot of the sightseeing in these previous visits - climbing to the top of the Eiffel Tower, The Louvre (although it's so vast you can never see it all), Musée Rodin, Notre Dame, Sacre Coeur - the list goes on. It's an easy city to walk around and of course there's the shopping. My favourite is the Galleries Lafayette and Sephora. What self respecting make up artist could resist going there!

This year Paris was host to The Ryder Cup, a biennial men's golf competition between Europe and the United States. My job in this major sports production was to look after all the on-air talent for the UK broadcaster along with my colleague who shared the workload. The majority of my 8 days was spent on site at Le Golf National, but I was fortunate enough to have a full day and two afternoons off so I took full advantage.

The Palace of Versailles was relatively close to where we were staying so it seemed the obvious place to start. It was a beautiful autumn day and being a Monday the Palace itself was closed but there are acres of gardens, walks, sculptures and fountains to see, all free of charge.

The Orangery is most impressive .. To stock the Orangery, Louis XIV gathered all the orange trees from the royal houses and acquired a large number of new trees from Italy, Spain and Portugal. It was considered good manners at the time for courtiers to gratify the King by offering him their own orange trees. They were transported with such haste (even in the middle of winter) that many expired on the way there, but the Versailles orangery was soon able to boast the largest collection in Europe.

Most of the fountains which were built in the 17th century have been or are in the process of being restored and are spectacular. Unfortunately they weren't on when we were there but it gave us an opportunity to see just how magnificent they are.

On the first of my two afternoons off, my colleagues and I decided to go on a cruise on the River Seine. We had been up since 3am but sleep could wait! We hopped on the Metro at the end of the line at Pont de Sevre M9, which was an adventure in itself, working out where to change from the Metro to the RER C at La Muette/Boulainvilliers which would then take us to Champ de Mars Tour Eiffel. This was where we could pick up a boat trip for a one hour cruise costing €14 with a glass of champagne for an extra €7. We were lucky we were on a relatively small boat which wasn't crowded so it was a very relaxing, pleasant trip, taking in twenty three landmarks including the Eiffel Tower, The Louvre, and the Grand Palais to name but a few. We finished off with a light dinner before returning for some much needed sleep before our next and thankfully last 3am start.

Our second afternoon off was spent local to our hotel at Pont de Sevre. There is a large and beautiful park nearby which we wanted to explore. The Domaine National de Saint-Cloud was just a few minutes walk away and just at the entrance we noticed the Musée National de Ceramique so we decided to take a look inside. We did not know what to expect and paid the €8 entrance fee which included an exhibition called Forces de la Nature. The three Norwegian artists featured Kari Dyrdal, Torbjørn Kvasbø and Marit Tingleff produced interesting large format works of contemporary tapestry and ceramic pieces. I was particularly impressed with the tapestries - the scale and the vibrant colours - I'm so glad we went inside.

Once outdoors again, we continued our walk through the park, ascending the winding road to the top where we had amazing views of Paris, with the Eiffel Tower in the distance. It was a beautiful autumn day and as we wandered through the woods, we discovered a bridle path that led us towards a view of the fountains and gardens below.

Meandering down the hill we
stopped at a little café at the bottom where we had tea. Fortunately for us there were no more hills to negotiate. After another brutally early start that morning, we were pretty much ready to head back to the hotel and our beds on the now flat area of the park, along the beautiful tree lined pathway.

The week almost over, we went into the last day of work and the final day of the Ryder Cup. The atmosphere was fantastic, with fans from all over the world cheering their respective teams on. Europe came out the victors this time, winning the cup back from the USA.

All that was left to do was pack up and prepare for our respective journeys home the following day. Thank you for your hospitality Paris!

Merci et au revoir Paris ... Jusqu'à la prochaine fois.