Some folks say that we get to have all the fun, we’d have to agree.

Together with our partners at Oy, Nike asked us to give a heroes home coming welcome to their employee athletes who took part in the 2010 Étape du Tour. This year a group of 34 cyclists trained for six months to combat the infamous stage from Pau to Col du Tourmalet, including the treacherous final climb which has become part of cycling folklore.

Inspired by Nike’s innovative Chalkbot, we headed out to their European headquarters in Hilversum and sprayed congratulatory messages to all the participants, showing the encouragement and support of their friends and colleagues. With help from our mates at Goed Bezig, we managed to pull off a pretty impressive and iconic environmental display. Check out more images here.

At the office I’m always trying to explain memories from my experiences in Paris, my neighbourhood in the 19th district, my mates, our parties. So when I heard that the crew wanted to go to my city to soak up the culture I felt like I had a mission to accomplish. My aim was to make the crew discover “Paname” ~ Paris’ B-side, far far away from the Eiffel Tower and Moulin-Rouge. Co-incidence of the calendar, the chosen weekend also happened to feature “la fête de la musique“, Paris’ massive street event where people play, dance, listen and enjoy music in the whole city.

On our first night we hit 2 clubs, a new one called “1979″ and the unmistakable ”Social Club” ~ the basement hangout for young Parisian cool cats. To end the evening we enjoyed a suturing walk at sunrise through the city back home. Revitalised by some good bread and stinky French cheese we continued exploring and walked on the “Petite Ceinture” an abandoned train line that goes all around Paris. After going through a Chinese protest in Belleville we ended up at “Le Point Ephémère“, one of the rare legal squats in Paris.

For “la fête de la musique” we went to a block party organised by “Pain O Chokolat“. The main act was 113 and Dead Prez. We enjoyed our time dancing with a large eclectic crowd. To finish our evening we took the last metro deep into the suburbs and arrived at a friend’s house party that was off the hook.

In France there is a saying, you either come from Paris or from France. So on a recent trip to France I spent a few days wandering around the streets of Lyon searching for the best gastronomical experiences, the kind that fuels the French stereotype. Well, I was blown away by what I found, some of the most delicious food I have ever eaten. This is where to find it.

Notre Maison - This place was so impressive it even amazed my Lyonnais mates. If you want the authentic experience look no further.

L’epicurie Sarl - This café’s speciality is tartines and has some delicious desserts.

La Limonade de Marinette - This café is in an old general store and is a great place to stop for lunch before you attempt the accent to the Basilica.

La Cave d’à Côté - This wine bar is a hidden gem. Make sure you order a assiette de charcuterie platter here, it’s amazing.

Last Friday night I went to two superb events, the first was GUP Magazine’s launch party of their latest theme ‘The Street Issue’ at Kahmann Gallery. Quite an impressive turnout of Amsterdam’s uber cool rocked up for this summer celebration of the bimonthly Guide to Unique Photography, also featuring an exhibition by students from The Royal Academy of Arts The Hague.

After this I headed over to Sociëteit De Sauna for the 1 Jaar Kraakhelder party! It was here that I bumped into an admirer sporting a Dolly Rogers Groupie t-shirt. (I love it when that happens!) Apparently, I left too early and missed out on the lucky lapdance raffle. Still, it remains one of my current fave underground venues in Amsterdam.

I owe my friends on Twitter a big thank you as your tweets reminded me that I had two tickets to go see LCD Soundsystem. It was a brilliant show where they played their classics with a new rock twist that’s evident on their new album This is Happening. The new tracks got the crowd going and the classics nearly turned the famous Paradiso into a mountain of rubble. If this is their final tour then they went out with style.