I am fortunate enough to spend chunks of each year as a digital nomad, for example, working for a client in country A while actually being located in countries X, Y, and Z.
This post will serve as a sort of diary and a reminder for my later years of these fun times. I hope it will also bring some vicarious pleasure, fond memories, and ideas for the future to anybody who chooses to read it.
Day 1 – Friday, 29 August 2025
This morning, I packed my rucksack with lots of running stuff, some work clothes and my computer (along with a big collection of cables and plugs) and took a taxi to Nottingham station. The train to London takes just under 2 hours, and I managed to get about an hour of work done. The next stop was St Pancras, where I enjoyed a chicken katsu Curry in a Japanese restaurant and bought a few things for the train
Then it was time to go through to the Eurostar lounge. The entire passport and security process for Eurostar is significantly easier than going through airports. And from there onto the train for Paris.
The journey to Paris was very smooth and took about 3.5 hours (which makes the journey to London look very slow). I probably worked for about 90 minutes, and snoozed a fair bit of the rest.
Arriving by train at Gare du Nord is always a marvellous assault on the senses. One leaves the calm of the train, walks a few paces, and suddenly, you are in the most amazing hustle and bustle. The sounds, sights, and smells always give me a lift. I think it is so much more authentic than transactional London, and way more glamorous than dear old Nottingham.
I needed to catch two metro trains to get to my Airbnb in Montreuil (about 8km / 5 miles East of the centre of Paris), lines 5 and 9. But, before I could do that, I had to sort out the travel app for my phone. In the past, I used to buy 10 tickets and use them until I needed more. However, the paper tickets are no longer available, so I installed the app and loaded it with tickets.
I took the metro to the last stop, Maried de Montreuil, the building in the back left of the picture, with the French flags. Now I am in real France 🙂 This will be my base for the next 12 days, before I head to Milan.
After checking into my apartment, I went to the local supermarket and bought the first key things I needed for the kitchen.
Day 2 – Saturday, 30 August 2025
Today is a Saturday, and when I am in Paris on a Saturday or Monday, I try to make sure I run with Let’s Run Paris (LRP). LRP are a great bunch of people and caters for runners with a wide range of paces.
On Saturday, they meet at 9 am at Le Gay Russac cafe, near the Luxembourg Gardens, which, to my UK body clock, felt like an 8 am meet.
So, I set my alarm for 6:30 am, had a cup of coffee and set out for Le Gay Russac. I decided to take the metro to Place de la République and then jog the 3 km to the meeting place. I was rewarded with blue skies and great views of Paris.
I got to Le Gay Russac in time to buy a bottle of water for the run from a story and to enjoy a pre-run coffee and croissant at the cafe.
Today, there were groups for 5 mins, 5.5 mins, 6 mins, and 7 mins per km. I knew that the route would be about 18km, so I chose to run with the 6 km group, led by Alain.
The route was new to me, and I think it was relatively new to LRP. We headed North, passing the Notre Dame, the beach by the Seine, and the Louvre, before reaching our turning point at The Parc Clichy-Batignolles – Martin Luther King. On the way back, I had to break ranks to take a picture of the Eiffel Tower (adding it to the 100s I already have.)
The run finished in the Luxembourg Gardens, and I had the chance to take a photo with some of the other runners.
At Le Gay Lussac I enjoyed a tartine avec beurre et confiture and a larger coffee.
After chatting with other runners for a while, I jogged back to Place Republique and took the metro back to my apartment.
The life of a digital nomad is not all running, chatting and eating. After a shower, I settled down to a few hours’ work, only broken by going out to buy some food for supper. I had a meeting with Will to discuss ResearchWiseAI, edited a video, wrote a blog, and prepared for a training course I am running on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday.
Day 3 – Sunday, 31 August 2025
The life of a digital nomad means that you sometimes take leisure time during the week, and sometimes you work on the weekend. Although today was a Sunday, it was mostly a working day.. After a bit of a lie-in, I got up at 8:00 a.m., had breakfast, played Wordle, and settled in for three hours of work. I have meetings next week to prepare for and a background project of writing a new course, introducing ChatGPT to complete beginners.
Just after midday, I went out for my jog. Today marks my 2436th consecutive day of running. My minimum is 3 km, but I wanted to do at least a little bit of exploring. About 800 metres from my apartment is a park I have not visited before, the Parc des Beaumonts, so I decided to head there.
The park is situated above the surrounding area, and a steep set of paths accesses it.
The park itself is primarily a wooded area, with occasional patches of open grass, and features some outdoor gym equipment. In addition to a 6 km run, I also did some exercises on the machines.
On the way back to my apartment, I looped in a couple of the shopping/restaurant streets, and stopped for lunch – coffee and a croque saumon.
Back in the apartment, after a shower and doing some laundry, it was back to work until dinner. For dinner, I went to a local, small supermarket and bought some items to prepare at home.
After dinner, I caught up on emails, social media, and, of course, this blog.
Day 4 – Monday 1 September 2025
I spent the morning working, as a digital nomad, there is quite a bit of work in the mix – that is how I can afford to travel 🙂
At lunchtime, I went for a wander around the local streets and had lunch the French way, with red wine, looking out over the street.
The afternoon was spent working.
On Mondays in Paris, I run with Let’s Run Paris; tonight was scheduled for a 10km run. As a warm-up, I decided to jog the 6km to the meeting place, crossing the Périphérique as I passed into ‘real’ Paris.
However, when I reached Place de la République with 15 minutes to spare, I suddenly realised that I had had a brain freeze! The meeting place for Let’s Run Paris is Nation! I rushed down to the metro and travelled to Place de la République, arriving a few minutes after the groups had left.
I briefly considered trying to catch up, but I quickly realised it would be tricky to do so. I had the route on Strava, so I ran it counter-clockwise, in the opposite direction of the groups.
I reached the lake in the Bois de Vincennes, and just as I arrived at the road beyond the lake, I met the first group and joined in with them.
Lac Daumesnil, Bois de Vincennes
However, this was the 5-minute-per-km group, and I had intended to run with the 6-minute-per-km group. I kept up with the group for a while, but as we started to climb up Avenue Daumesnil, I realised I needed to drop back a bit. So, I thanked the 5s and jogged back down the hill until I met the 5.5-minute-per-km group and ran back with them.
Back at the meeting spot, the cafe Le Triomphe, I had Côte du cochon with rice. In the UK, I rarely eat pork, but when travelling, I feel the desire to blend in 😉
Day 5 – Tuesday 1 September 2025
Today was more of a working day. A digital nomad works about as many hours as someone working from a fixed location. The benefits of the digital nomad’s life are 90% about what happens when I am not working, and perhaps 10% about the benefits (or problems) of working in new and interesting places.
Today was mostly a working day. In the morning, I was working in my apartment. I followed this with a run to and around Vincennes and the Bois de Vincennes, and the Château de Vincennes. Lunch was a sandwich from a boulangerie. In the afternoon, more work, a trip to the supermarket to buy stuff for dinner and an evening of catching up with things.
Day 6, Wednesday 3 September
This marked the beginning of three days spent working in the office of one of my clients, helping them get up to speed with using Microsoft Copilot. This was really enjoyable, both the work and the people. In the afternoon, I visited one of my favourite stores, the department store, Galeries Lafayette Haussmann. Followed by a trip back to my apartment via the metro. When I got back, I changed and had a short run up to Parc des Beaumonts, then worked out on the open-air gym machines. After dinner, I finally caught up on emails.
Day 7, Thursday 4 September
I spent the morning with my client, expanding the range of uses for Copilot. I had lunch with MD and we ate at a pavement table of a local brasserie, and I had boeuf bourguignon. After lunch, I had a great conversation with a friend, JD, who lives in Paris, and we discussed the market research industry.
After returning to Montreuil, I changed and went for a run, discovering a new park that also offers views, steps, and an outdoor gym. But this park also has a running track.
Day 8, Friday 5 September
This was the last day working with my client. I am glad to report they all seemed pretty happy with the three days of learning. After returning to the apartment, I changed clothes and ran off to find another park, Parc Montreau. It is only early September, but it already looks very autumnal. On the way back, I bought food for dinner, but not from Dangerous Burger.
Day 9, Saturday 6 September
The main feature of the day was the run with Let’s Run Paris! – A Parisian running club, 21km, going into some parts of Paris I have not been to before. After a good post-run chat, I wandered through some of the streets and took a look at the restoration of Notre Dame.
Day 10, Sunday 7 September
After a morning Zoom meeting (yes, on a Sunday morning), I spend the bulk of the day as a flanneur (the French poet Charles Baudelaire described a flanneur as somebody who: Wanders the city streets. Soaks up impressions from the crowds, buildings, and rhythms of modern life. Is detached yet deeply attentive, turning everyday details into art. I can’t claim to create art – but I did wander the streets and markets of Paris.
The colours in Paris seem more alive than in the UK. Lunch was blood sausage, as it was the special, and I felt I ought to try it. It was OK, not great, not awful. In the evening, I had a short run, which I call a streak saver.
Day 11, Monday 8 September
I had a few meetings in the morning, including one with China, then into town to visit an immersive experience based on Van Gaugh. This was a fantastic experience, partly the magic of Van Go,h, but, as ever, the beauty was created by the curation – and the curation here was top class.
I had more meetings and work in the afternoon, followed by my last run of this trip with Let’s Run Paris! – A Parisian running club. Nearly 11km up to Télégraphe. I needed to pack that evening after running, as I had a train to Milan in the morning.
Day 9, Tuesday 9 September
I got up early to go for a short run and keep my run streak going, then took a shower and finished tidying the Airbnb apartment. Then I took the metro to Gare de Lyon and boarded the high-speed train for a 7-hour ride to Milan. In Milan, I checked into my hotel for two nights and had a quick dinner before retiring to my room. Dinner was a simple Rigatoni carbonara, but it was delicious.
I like travelling by train as you can mix, rest, watch the scenery, watch the people and work.
Day 13, Wednesday 10 September
Today the digital nomad had plenty of work as well as fun. In the morning, I had two meetings and some other work till midday (and did some more later). The middle if the day was spent doing sight-jogging or run-seeing – my combination of running and sightseeing. At times, the sight-jogging was very slow, but that is OK. Today, just over 12 kilometres of Milan were explored.
In the evening, I met an old friend who has one of the best minds in market research and is a wonder conversationalist. The food was terrific and the conversation was delightful. The evening reminded me that I must make more effort to keep in touch with the people I want to spend time with.
Day 14, Thursday 11 September
Becaukm se I was travelling to Palermo, I did a short run of 3.5k before breakfast. Then I did some work in my room and took the metro to Linate Airport, where I caught a flight to Palermo in Sicily. The next few days were going to be spent at an event organised by FFIND. Each year, they invite some of the clients and a guest speaker to join them in Sicily or one of the nearby islands to spend time learning about research, enjoying the weather and making new connections.
In Palermo, I met my friends from FFIND and went to the hotel where we were staying on Thursday night.
After catching up with emails, it was drinks by the pool and a walk to dinner. At the dinner, we had an excellent presentation from the inspirational Ennio Armato.
Day 15, Friday 12 September
The day started with a short run with a new friend before breakfast. After eating breakfast with the group, we took a flight to Pantelleria (a small Italian island just off the coast of Tunisia). We arrived at the new event HQ and had a nice lunch. The afternoon was devoted to a trip to à very salty inland lake and a brainstorming session held in a lakeside cafe. Before returning, four of us took a swim in the lake, a bit like the Dead Sea.
In the evening, we had a trip to a winery. At the winery, it was my turn to give a presentation. My presentation focused on the key themes related to AI. An excellent meal with local speciality wines followed this. By the time we go back to our accommodation (which for me was a villa on the other side of the island from event HQ) it was a late finish. It was a great day, and people started bonding and sharing experiences and thoughts.
Day 16, Saturday 13 September
This was a big day! We were scheduled to meet at 9:30 am at the event HQ. I decided it would be a good adventure to run there. Si, I got up very early to run the 21km across the island to meet the rest of the group.
The first section was really tricky in terms of navigating off-road trails that were present on the map, but not on the ground. I took 1 hour to cover the first 5km and 1.5 hours to cover the next 20.
At 9:30, we moved down to the harbour and boarded two boats for a trip around the island. The trip included numerous stops for swimming, a visit to warm springs, and plenty of food and wine. The inter-group bonding was now working really well.
In the evening, we had a meal, disco and stargazing at the villa where I was staying. The evening began with my second presentation, this time focusing on how the research industry is utilising AI. I think some of them stayed up very late, but I called it a day at 1 pm.
Day 17, Sunday 15 September
The last day of my digital nomad trip. I got up exceptionally early again, so I could do a 3 km streak saver, getting another great view of the sunrise and the flowers in the villa’s garden.
At Pantelleria airport, we all gathered for the last time to check in and take the plane to Palermo. At Palermo, the group was sundered, with people heading to destinations all across Europe.
It was an extraordinary weekend, and kudos to FFIND for organising it. In addition to being super fun, we learned a great deal more about FFIND and its services, and made connections across our entire industry.
I flew to Milan, then to London City Airport, and then took the DLR and underground to St Pancras, followed by a train to Nottingham. Finally, a taxi from the station, and I was home. This trip for the digital nomad was over (the next trip is in about a week, to Prague for a conference).
Some Reflections
Obviously, I am fortunate to have these choices. I would suggest that I am pretty adept at taking opportunities when they are presented. I think people think this sort of more travel is more glamourous that it is. Time spent in airports, taxis and some hotels can be pretty tedious and wearing. However, compared to three weeks at home, it is precisely how I want to spend about 50% of my time.
My advice to you, if you have been crazy enought to read to the end is to think about what you would like to do and how you might best start doing it. Please don’t wait for something perfect; see a slight chance, take it, and then look for the next opportunity.
I think life shoudl be full of adventures. If you believe that might be true of you too, do adventures. Adventures can be tiny, your first try at stand-up paddleboarding, joining Couch to 5 K, or volunteering to marshal an event. Get in the habit of saying yes when things are offered (and if things aren’t offered, ask, or do something as a small adventure.)
