It’s always wonderful to be here in Paris, one of my favourite cities in the world. Kel, Stephanie and I arrived very early Saturday morning from Toronto (on one of those red-eye flights where it’s almost impossible to sleep). Even though we have visited many times before, for visiting Australians and New Zealanders, the sense of history is overwhelming. Yesterday we had the day off so we spent the afternoon wandering through the Louvre…or rather, call it more a “power walk” of the Louvre – we always visit when we are here, even if there is limited time. My favourite museum, Musée d’Orsay is unfortunately closed on Mondays.
But today it was back to work and what a busy day it was! I started with a rather amusing interview for a French Internet Distribution Company that supplies videos to a number of news and entertainment sites, including MySpace, Facebook and YouTube. The catch was that I had to speak in French! Anyone who knows me understands that languages are not my strong point. It was a good challenge though and it turned out to be a lot of fun. To follow I had two print interviews, the first with “Ouest”, the largest newspaper in France. And the second with “Questions de Femmes”, a popular women’s magazine. It is a completely different experience when doing interviews with people who speak a different language. Using a translator forces you to really think through what you are saying and reflect on new ways of getting your message across.
After lunch at the hotel I taped an interview for “France 24” first on location at a florist near the Champs-Elysées, and then at the café George V. Following this I spoke with a journalist from “Le Midi Libre”, another French newspaper published in the South of France. To conclude our busy day I have just completed a telephone interview with Canadian “Hello” magazine.
Now it’s off for some great French food for dinner!
