Happy Birthday Alex!

Yesterday was Alex's 18th birthday. We had a WONDERFUL day! In the morning, David, Rachel and I went off to check out the Bastille markets - fruit, vegies, cheeses, seafood, meat, spices, olives, clothes, shoes, fabric - all sorts of stuff. It was really fun.

After we got home, Alex and I set off to do some birthday shopping. We went to Les Halles, but it was all a bit overwhelming, and we ended up buying nothing. Forum des Halles is kind of dark, and we wandered aimlessly for ages. In the end, Alex had had enough and we put off the actual purchasing part for another day.

We did however make it to Angelina's Salon de The, opposite the Tuilleries garden next to the Louvre. I'd read a lot about it on travel forums, and was keen to try its famous hot chocolates. There was a queue of over twenty people in front of us, but we were stalwart, and waited. The queue actually moved quite fast. Inside, the decor is lovely. It was established in 1903, and boasts the patronage of many famous writers and historical figures. I would say it's worth going, but mostly for the atmosphere. The 'Africain' hot chocolate was lovely, if not quite hot enough. I still don't think it's as good as a good Italian Chocolate, which is much more rich and thick. It was good, though. I had one of their famous Mont Blanc patisseries, which is a smallish circle of meringue, topped with whipped cream, covered in chestnut-flavoured icing. Chestnuts don't have a lot of flavour, in my opinion, but it was very sweet. Alex had a strawberry tart which he said was fantastic. It was fun, and I would certainly go again. The wait staff were extremely polite and the lady who looked after our table was very friendly. I found something interesting in the ladies' room upstairs. There was a sort of a cubicle with three sides covered in mirrors, so you could stand inside and look at yourself from all angles. I'm not sure how it has impacted on patisserie sales...

Alex and I came home and everyone got ready for our big night out. We bookede Altitude 95 on the Eiffel Tower, to celebrate Alex's eighteenth. It was SO MUCH FUN!!

Our sitting was at 9pm, which was fine, because we wanted to see the tower lit up, and it's dark until after 10, so the time suited us. The information booth people below the tower pointed us to the particular booth we needed to go to in order to buy our tickets to take the lift up to the restaurant - a little over 4 euros each. We then bypassed the queue and went up directly to the restaurant. It was one of my most fun nights, ever. We sat by the window in the corner, with a beautiful view of Paris, as well as being quite close to the steel frame of the tower. The service was excellent. Our young, friendly waiter played with Hugo a bit, over the night, and was wonderful. The food was fabulous. It doesn't always get great reviews, but our food was excellent.

We started with an amusing amuse-bouche - a short coffee cup full of a tomato mixture with herbs and garlic and croutons and little bread sticks. We'd booked a set menu online. For starters we had the choice of smoked salmon with little pancakes, or foie gras in truffle sauce. We had both and tasted each other's. Divine. So rich! For our main meal, we all chose veal and it was incredible. It was like a little roast, covered in a sort of spinachy butter. The vegetables were covered in a frothy roux sauce, with extra sauce in a tiny glass. I'd never had cooked radishes before, and they were beautiful. There was also what the waiter described as an old French vegetable - sounded like 'crone' but I can't find it in the dictionary. Hugo ate every bit of his vegetables. It's all in the sauce, apparently. The meal was divine.

Dessert was delicious. Some of us had their special cheesecake, and some had the Opera chocolate cake. It was such a fun night. The staff were very attentive, and the food was fabulous. And the view! I think it is something I will remember til I'm an old lady.

Afterwards, we admired the view for a while, and then we descended in the lift, and walked along the Champs de Mars, so we'd have a good view of the tower at midnight, which was only ten minutes away. The tower was illuminated a deep blue - quite spectacular. At midnight, as it does every hour, for ten minutes, the whole thing started to sparkle wildly - lights all over it flickered furiously. It made me gasp out loud! We had fun taking photos, and playing around.

Afterwards we took the metro home. It was an absolutely fantastic experience.