Working in Paris

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During 2005, I spent my time travelling between London, Paris and Amsterdam, with the occasional trip to Bruxelles thrown in.

Having lived in Amsterdam during 1989, it was a real pleasure to pay the occasional visit - and try and recall my rusty Dutch.

Paris, however, was a different kettle of fish. I commuted almost weekly, taking the 16h00 flight from Manchester on a Monday and arriving in my hotel (in Courbevoire) at 21h00 local time. This enabled me to be in the office from 08h00, just a few 100 yards away.

Each week, I'd come out of the airport, hail a taxi and practise my French on the taxi-driver as he negotiated the one-way system around La Défense. Arriving at the hotel, I'd always unpack my travel bag and head out to the Thai restaurant over the road. Being the business district, there were actually not that many places to eat and one usually ended up taking Le Métro into the city. However, for the first evening, convenience was always the order.

It was not possible to take many photos during my time in Paris, mainly because I was there to work and was not permitted a camera in the office. In some respects, this was a shame as the view from the 40th floor was spectacular - particularly in the autumn when the building soared above the clouds.

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