Return of the Globetrotter...

With a 3 week trip to South Africa coming up I thought I might give this blogging malarky another go. I don't profess to know exactly what I'm talking about but I'm stupid enough to give pretty much anything a go so it should prove to be a pretty entertaining few weeks!

For those that don't know, my first foray into the world of blogging was quite succesful. Somehow, I managed to convince the beautiful people at www.lastminute.com to let me represent them as a travel writer and travel round the world for them (Check out this article in the Daily Mail).

Although that feels like a lifetime ago, I still undoubtedly have the travel bug. My most recent trip was a long weekend across to the channel to Paris, France. Although most would spend their time visiting the Eiffel Tower or famous museums like the Louvre, my time was spent quite differently!

This year was the 10th birthday of the most unique festival I have ever had the pleasure of attending. Rock En Seine 2012 was my third visit to the festival and was by far my favourite of the bunch. Each year I seem to convince more and more friends how good it is and the travelling group is growing each time. This year we were entertained by musical heavyweights GreenDay, Ed Sheeran, and the omnipotent Noel Gallagher. Rock En Seine may not have the packed line up that some of the British festivals can offer but it does come with other benefits. Firstly, its cheap. A 3 day pass costs around £100 and you can get there from as little as £69 return. Secondly, its bang in the centre of Paris. Not a field on the outskirts of Warrington, Reading or Leeds. This is Paris! There is something about being overlooked by the Eiffel Tower that adds a bit more culture to a hedonistic weekend!

My favourite part of the festival is that its set in the grounds of the Parc De Saint Cloud. There is none of this knee deep mud and human waste to worry about - the biggest concern is simply how to spend your morning whilst the day-trip crowds begin to pour in. In our case, it was normally a trip to one of the local supermarkets to stock up on alcohol and food for the day followed by lazing around in the sunshine listening to the smaller warm up acts with a big smile on our faces.

 

 Don't let the sunshine and relaxed surroundings fool you. Once the sun goes down the party really kicks in! It doesn't stop until the early hours (I think I had approx 3/4hrs sleep each night!) with a separate DJ tent for those camping on the grounds and plenty of private raves going on people's tents when they manage to make the walk back through the grounds! The only downside for me was the lack of Jagermeister behind the bar - i trust that will be rectified for my visit in 2013!

Either way, all thats left to say is how much I recommend your next trip to Paris coincides with this yearly event. Don't make it too well known though - we wouldn't want it to be ruined by too many Brits bringing the dodgy weather with them!

 

Rock En Seine 2012

RMC x