To start off the birthday celebrations, Adam and I went for a late night walk down the River Seine from the 11th arrondissement (where we’re staying) all the way to the 7th – to the Eiffel Tower! We arrived at about 10pm, and sat down in the gardens beneath the tower for some dinner – French baguette, salami and cheese. Yum! We sat and just gazed at the tower, lit up in blue, and sparkled in the night. It was just gorgeous. We strolled over to the carnival and got a chocolat noisette crêpe (chocolate and cream) and devoured that on the stroke of midnight – so I think I brought the new decade of my life in well.
(The Eiffel Tower at night.)
We caught the train back and went to sleep in our lovely double deb. In the morning, we had a very traditional French breakfast – called Petit Dejuneur (small lunch) which was a coffee (the best coffee in the world), croissant (the best croissant in the world) and orange juice (the best orange juice in the world – seriously). We had this at a little French café/restaurant called Le Ray – which we had been visiting every day since coming here. And its handy that they have wifi (pronounced wiffee) so we’re able to put these blogs up. We just really love that little café. The staff are always so lovely and friendly and very helpful, and we have a laugh at our language barriers – sometimes it looks like a ‘charades’ competition in there! But it is also helping my French skills! I have learnt a lot from them!
(our french breakfast!)
After the delicious (and surprisingly filling) breakfast, we walked all the way up to The Louvre. It was funny when Adam saw this nice little garden and wanted to grab a photo. I chuckled a little, knowing what was on the other side – The Jardin Des Tuileries – such a spectacular garden. We took plenty of photos of the building itself and the Grande Pyramid! One thing we noticed though, there were so many street merchants, and people hassling you. One man approached us, claiming to be deaf (come to think of it I’m not sure he was) and asked us to fill out a form – so we did, thinking it was a petition of some sort. Then we see on the very last column, ‘amount to donate’ – we donated 1 euro as that was all we had. We were then approached by another group and they basically put the pen into my hand, and I said ‘no donation’ and he replied no. I filled out the form, got to the end, and it said ‘amount to donate’ – I said to him ‘no donation’ – and he said ‘no no no, just a small donation, 5 or 10 euro, very small’. I was bloody furious. I said ‘no, zero donation’ – they were quick to get their pens back. But none the less, we enjoyed our stay at The Louvre and gardens. We didn’t actually enter the Louvre as it was closed for cleaning, but we will be doing that today. But the grounds of the Louvre is spectacular, we sat there for quite a while. It was really pleasant.
(Me and Adam at the Louvre!)
At this point, I was getting a little upset that I hadn’t heard from my family. I then realised that I cannot receive phone calls if I have no phone credit (stupid system really) so Adam and I frantically ran about the city of Paris trying to find a phone card or a Vodaphone shop. But every second shop is a bloody café so it took us a while. We eventually got a phone card and I called my mum – got not answer L, and then got a chance to speak with my dad and brother. Adam then spoke to his parents, which was the first time he had spoken to them since he left, so it was quite nice hearing from our families. Just a quick note – thank you to everyone who has sent messages, emails, comments, and e-cards (thanks Jason, and dad and Tiff!) on my birthday. You really made my day!
We continued on walking, got lost for a little while, but eventually made our way to the Royal Palace. It was odd, as it had been turned into a shopping mall – however the gardens were stunning. Paris really has some gorgeous gardens. We were lucky that the weather was so fantastic – very sunny and had only rained briefly in the morning. We continued our walk (and yes, we were walking a long time – probably about 10k) and walked up to the Place de la Concorde – this was pretty cool. It is said that the pink granite ‘obelisk’ (some 3300 years old) in the middle of the square was once in the temple of Ramses at Thebes. We continued on to the Grande and Petit Palace (big and small palace) which was impressive, but not as impressive as its bridge. The bridge was made in 1800 (or so) and was lined with statues and gold and lanterns – and directly opposite was the Hotel des Invalides. It was built in the 1670’s by King Louis XIV to provide housing for 4000 ‘invalides’ (war veterans). On the 14th July, 1789, a mob forced its way into the building, and after fierce fighting, seized 28,000 rifles before heading onto the Prison at Bastille and revolution. So that was pretty damn cool too. By this stage we were super tired and hungry, so we stopped for a Citrôn Sucré crêpe (lemon and sugar) at the Champ de Mars. Yum Yum – I love crêpes! and we sat, and ate, and watched the world move past us.
From the Champ de Mars, we could see the Arc de Triomphe and the Place de l’Etoile (that crazy roundabout) and the Champs Elysées is a continuation of the Champ de Mars. But despite being so close to it, I was exhausted and just wanted to get my French pastries and tarts and sit at the Eiffel Tower. So we did. We wondered around for ages trying to find a patisserie, but most businesses in Paris close for lunch (between 1 – 3pm) and the area around the Eiffel Tower is quite residential, so we couldn’t find anything. Instead, we spent 10 bloody euros on some shit Eiffel Tower Touristy food shop – muffins the size of Adam’s thumb, and chocolate donuts with Nutella filling, and the dough was just dry and crap. Quite depressing. But meh – moving on. We sat down on the ‘lush’ grass under the Eiffel tower and I fell asleep for a bit. I woke up annoyed that a couple had chosen to sit about 1 metre from us, and lit up their cigarettes. Not happy Jan (considering I have successfully quit smoking). But either way, the sun disappeared behind a massive rain cloud, and the sky became grey. So we made the decision to climb the Eiffel Tower.
After waiting in queue for about 1 hour or so, perhaps more, we began our massive hike up the 679 stairs to the second level of the tower. The views were just awesome!!! Not to mention the wind tho! The wind was so powerful, Adam even had trouble standing! We thought this was super cool, and wanted to go to the ‘summit’ – then realised there was another queue to the top (had to get the elevator). We were in this queue for at least an hour and a half, in the freezing cold wind! But we were determined it would be worth it!
And it was. We finally got to the top, and it was surprisingly warmer up there (I guess closer to the sun! we were 324 metres high!) and just to our luck, the sun was slowly setting. We got such amazing views it was breathtaking. We didn’t stay up there too long as it was massively overcrowded with budding Asian tourists (making that ‘peace’ sign with their fingers at every photo opportunity – hysterical…). I must say though, the Eiffel Tower really topped it off! I had the best birthday! How many people can say they climbed the Eiffel Tower on their 20th Birthday? I feel pretty damn lucky!
(Me and Adam at the top of the Eiffel Tower)
We then got a train back to our hotel and got some warmer clothes on. (When Adam first arrived here, he brought with him some gifts for me from my family. Thank you to Nanna and Pa for the awesome Cadbury Chocolate! The chocolate in England is super shit, and you can’t get Cadbury herein France – so I have now have my Cadbury chocolate fix! And the singing card was so sweet too! To mum, thank you so much for the Astrology guide, I think it has truly saved me from a lot of arguments thus far! And I don’t know if you have read it but my return to Australia looks promising for my career!! So I’m sure you’d be glad to hear that! And to Dad and Tiff – for the Europe on a Shoestring – this guide has saved Adam and me so much! We use it like the bible! We read it every night, and fully read up on our next destination. And also for the 40 euro for a birthday dinner!!!) We then went out and tried to find somewhere for a nice ‘French’ dinner. We stayed local as we’re near/in the Latin Quarter, and quite close to the Bastille (which is lined with really funky shops and café’s) so we just wondered up Rue de la Roquette to find something. We found this little French restaurant, and sat down. We then spent quite a while trying to understand the menu, and as we really sucked at that, we thought we’d wait for assistance. We waited, and waited and waited. About half an hour to 45 minutes past, and the waiters just flew past us. I cracked the shits, and we walked out. I was grumpy, well, I was pretty good surprisingly, Adam was infuriated. So I treated myself to another Citrôn Sucré crêpe – that put a smile on my face. As we were walking back home, we passed Le Ray.
And we were happy. We had been to Le Ray basically every day and really loved the place. It was French in every way. And the staff were just awesome. We sat down and attempted to understand the menu – I understood all the deserts at least! And then the waiter came over and helped us with the rest. We had a very French meal! We had a 3 course meal. First was a massive salad, and ‘egg mayonnaise’ for entrées. Then I had roast chicken with Dijon mustard and French fries and salad. Adam had a more daring choice and went for the traditional French dish. It was a special French sausage with cheese mashed potato (awesome awesome!!). And it was bloody awesome! Then for desert, Adam had a crème caramel, and I had a super chocolate mousse with a chocolate chunk in it. It was like a boat of chocolate, and it was so thick and rich and sooo good. But of course I had no troubles polishing it off! Adam’s crème caramel was bloody awesome too! It was a full on French crème caramel – made properly – not like the ones you buy in the packets at Coles or Safeway! And the best part – it came to exactly 40 euro! Thanks dad and Tiff!
(The desert!!!)
I had the best birthday ever! 10 years ago, I turned 10 in Thailand, and now for my 20th, I’m in Paris. I couldn’t ask for a better birthday present! It has just been so awesome. And I am so happy to have spent it with Adam – thanks for following me around and letting me take copious photos! Thank you for being in my life!
Happy birthday to me!!
Wow, I’m now 20! Into my 3rd decade!
Love you all,
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