DAY 8 – HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME

After many years of fabulous birthday parties, the pandemic made that type of celebration unfashionable – and these past few years my birthdays have become rather anti-climactic. Well, this year I decided to get back to celebrating surviving another journey around the sun – so this year I get to spend my birthday in Paris. After a late night seeing Paris, I decide to sleep in. Then I walk to the local patisserie and grab something akin to a French Calzone – and a lovely Strawberry Tart.

            My friend Sandrine drove down to spend the day with me, so when she arrives we hop on the train to Paris – and start at the Eiffel Tower. It’s always so much more fun to travel with someone – so I’m incredibly grateful that Sandrine gave up a couple of days to be in Paris with me.

            We hopped back on the TootBus, and started riding around Paris. We ride around and enjoyed the sites for a while, then opt to hop off on the Champs-Elysees. OMG – this is like the Paris version of Rodeo Drive in California – and the shops are incredible! It’s a hot afternoon and way past lunch, so we stop at Le Fouquet’s – a fabulous restaurant with dining right on the sideway on the Champs-Elysees. The inside of the restaurant is dark and rich, with headshot photos of famous movie stars – from both French and American movies. But I prefer to eat outside, on the Champs-Elysees, right in the shadow of the Arc de Triomphe.

            OK, can I just say that the French really know bread. OMG! Everywhere I go there is bread. People tend to purchase fresh bread every day. And I see people walking around with long skinny baguettes sticking out of the shopping bags frequently. And this restaurant is the same. I don’t even know what kind of bread it is, but it’s fabulous! And the butter!!! Even Sandrine went on about how good the butter was.

            For lunch, I select the Croque Monsieur, and Sandrine has the Cheeseburger – and they’re both AMAZING! Getting “diet” soda isn’t so easy here, so I ask for Ice Water – which I have to explain. I guess around here Ice is only for Mixed Drinks. So I end up with a bottle of chilled water – and an “extra” glass of HUGE ice cubes to add to my drinking glass.

            Meals are much slower and more relaxed – more of an experience. There is no rush to get our food to us – and no rush to get through the meal. Afterward, we had to flag down our waiter to get the check – which is just what you always have to do here.

Cooled off and happy tummied, we walk along the Champs-Elysses looking at all the stores People are lined up outside the “big name” stores – and a few are let in as a few leave, with arms loaded down with high-end shopping bags. I don’t need a Dior dress or a Gucci bag, so we just walk and talk – and don’t find any store interesting enough to go in. (Sorry, we’re just not shoppers.)

At the end of the street is the Arc de Triomphe. And we get there just as the military is lighting the Eternal Flame in remembrance of the Unknown Soldier from WWI. (They light it every evening.) The Arc de Triomphe is in the middle of a large traffic circle, with 12 streets radiating off the circle – and it’s a driving masterpiece to navigate it, with cars/buses/taxis/motorcycles all crowding in – and no traffic lanes to follow. We stand on the curb and try to figure out how to cross this crazy street, and finally find the stairs to the underground tunnel to access the center. We sneak into one corner of the fenced-off area, and Sandrine asks the French Soldier about some of the details – which he is happy to share. There are brand new recruits there, and some seasoned paratroopers, and some lovely older retired soldiers – they all participate in the ceremony.

We have one more “event” for the day, so we hop on a city bus to get back to the Eiffel Tower. It’s dinner time and the buses are over-crowded – and there is zero air circulation. It’s like a portable sauna riding around the streets of Paris.

But we get to the Eiffel Tower, and head toward the Bir-Hakeim Bridge – and follow very unusual instructions for this event. “Walk to the middle of the bridge…. Jump!”  JK – but it did say to walk to the middle of the bridge and head down the stairs. There’s a little island in the middle of the Seine, and this is how you access it. It’s called “l'ile aux Cygnes” which translates to “Isle of the Swans” – but there aren’t any swans around. At the far end of this island is where the French (mini) Statue of Liberty is located. And at the close end – is our Cruise Ship, for a Dinner Cruise.

Spending a few hours cruising up and down the Seine River through the heart of Paris, and seeing the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame, and all those fabulous sights from the river is the perfect way to end my birthday. And the dinner was delish too.