It’s been a very French week for me. Started with Monday’s faux pas when I buggered up my quarterly mail shot to 600 people by typing in the wrong code to pick up everyone’s first name. The good news is that, when I emailed to apologise, I had my best mailshot response ever. It’s been brilliant to reconnect with a few people I haven’t seen for ages and new lunches booked in the diary always makes me happy.
That email was about using the topical Tour de France as a springboard for Monday’s social media posts. A group of us took a picnic and watched as the blink-and-you-missed-it event passed by. As the cyclists whizzed through London on their way to the Palace there were dozens of opportunities to tweet, post and blog. Londoners also had a field day on Pinterest!
Then on Wednesday, we popped over to Paris for lunch. One of my Facebook friends asked if I’d eloped with a Tour de France cyclist, which made me laugh. I’d have liked a ride on the handlebars but no one stopped to pick me up! Eurostar got me there just as efficiently; a little less environmentally friendly but a lot more comfortable than on a bike.
Paris is such a beautiful city and the 
morning in Montmartre was the highlight of the day. True Parisian style: its ancient cobbled streets winding around pretty buildings adorned with flowering window boxes between paint-peeling shabby chic shutters. That was a long sentence for a plain English writer, but hey ho! Like the sentence, we packed a lot in. First, the petit train took us from the Dali exhibition to Moulin Rouge, then back up the steep hill to Sacre Coeur. Next stop was the Musée de l’Orangerie, followed by a walk in the rain through Jardin de Tullieries towards an obligatory visit to the Louvre. You can’t visit Paris without saying bonjour to the Mona Lisa. Then a taxi ride to Notre Dame (no, I didn’t see him) followed by a boat trip to the Eiffel Tower.
Driving rain failed to dampen the day, but by the time we walked along the Champs-Elysée I had puddles in my flip flops. So we stopped for French onion soup and French fries in a French bistro and watched the world and their brollies go by.
The French theme trickled into Thursday, with a delightful – and very English! – chocoholics afternoon tea at the Hilton in Park Lane. Little French Fancies adorned the top tier of the cake stand. I posted photos of those delicious chocolate creations all over social media. So, a très bonne week.
Back to Park Lane for yesterday’s fantastic concert in Hyde Park. Tom Jones headlining the event was always going to be amazing – and he certainly didn’t disappoint! Stef and I were right at the front, and WOW!! Has the man still got it?!! (Yes, it was rhetorical…) Can’t discuss the Facebook knickers conversation here as this is, after all, a professional business blog! But, needless to say, would have to have been French knickers!!
Boyzone were also brilliant – I wasn’t a huge fan in their early days, but they put on a great show, and it was quite touching how they still include Stephen Gately in their videos and commentary. 10CC: fab as always, Little Mix: hot dancers. Sunshine, colourful drinks, dancing, laughing – what better way to spend a Sunday?
You‘re probably expecting some TJ lyrics now, but had to end with this. Hopefully no one will think the video is too raunchy for a Monday morning… “Paris is calling. Falling, we’re falling, we’re falling, we’re falling. Lips close, then blossom like a rose, embrasser c’est Francais, embrasser c’est Francais.” Suivez-moi ici: @SorcièreDeFinDeSemaine
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