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Published: August 18th 2008
Bonjour!! These French keyboards are WAY weird so be prepared for typos. So yesterday was my 23rd birthday!! I couldn't have asked for a better place than Paris to celebrate!! However? the day started off rather rough. We had a 545 AM flight from Madrid, which meant waking up at 3 AM to leave our hostel on the airport shuttle by 330 AM. The shuttle got us to the airport around 4. We checked in, grabbed a quick bite to eat and got on the plane.
We landed in Paris around 745 and then had to take a bus for about an hour and a half into the heart of Paris, because our airport was far away. Then we tried like 5 taxi drivers but nobody knew where our hotel was, and even tho we knew the street they kept trying to tell us it didnt exist, that it was Marboeff instead of Marbeau. Finally we took the metro to the Eiffel Tower, backpacks and all, because we knew the hotel was close to it so we figured drivers would know the area better. No such luck. We finally decide it must be Marboeff and hopped into a taxi. We asked him if he could type in Marbeau to his GPS but he insisted it was Marboeff. So he takes us to Marboeff and 9 euros later discovers it isnt there. So he goes inside a hotel and the front desks googles it and discovers it is on Marbeau. Hm! So he takes us there using his GPS that he apparently couldnt use the first time around. In the end it was about 15 euros for the ride but we didnt care we were just glad to find it.
The hotel was beautiful and Ian had booked the best room in the place! We even had a balcony with a view of the top of the Eiffel Tower. Upon arriving, the front desk even let us have breakfast despite the fact it had ended an hour prior. This was nice! Even tho we were running on 2 hours of sleep, we forced ourselves to finish breakfast and head to our room to clean up and go out, partially because I insisted that I didnt spend my entire birthday asleep. We went to the Musee D'Orsay which I had been to before 5 years ago when I came here, but was still amazing. Tons of Van Goghs and Monets and Renoirs etc etc...since I am not an art buff, I tend to only appreciate famous paintings (unfortunate but true), so it was nice to see these. Then we went back to the hotel and slept before dinner. We awoke and went to dinner at a great place a family had recommended to us at Breakfast when they heard it was my birthday. It was a bit pricey but reasonably so since there was a set meal that was like 5 courses... we started off with a rose champagne (real Champagne FROM Champagne, France), followed by a duck salad. Then I had the rumpsteak and Ian the sea bass then a cheese plate then creme brulee, all of this accompanied by a full (included) bottle of red wine. YUM!! The best part is Ian told them it was my birthday somehow without me knowing and they put candles in my creme brulee and the cooks and waiters sang Happy Birthday to me twice...once in French and once in English!!! This made my night!
After dinner we grabbed a cab to the Eiffel Tower which was illuminated in blue and just fantastic!! Bigger then I remembered too! We took a ton of pictures, and walked to a wall where I took a picture in front of the Eiffel Tower 5 years ago. It was a perfect night!!!
Today we went to a new hotel, the other was very expensive, a special night only sort of thing, and we are sitting near the Bastille online, haha. Tonight we are taking a Montmarte tour and get to see the Moulin Rouge and all that good stuff. Tomorrow there is q free walking tour by the best free walking tour company we have experienced yet, so I am excited about that. The next morning we are off to an early start again to catch a plane to Dublin, Ireland!!
Ian realized, with sadness, that we are in the single digits as far as days remaining. This trip has been amazing and while we will be quite broke for awhile, most definitely worth it. Our goal is to enjoy the final week or so here and head home with plenty of amazing memories and great stories. We love u guys and will see u soon!!!!
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happy birthday
what a wonderful way to spend your birthday,and where did you find such a great guy to spend it with maybe one day I will be so lucky. Big "G"