Me and the number twenty-four in a super secret location! Hint: location disclosed in the next two paragraphs.
To celebrate this momentous occasion FBF surprised me with a weekend trip to Reims, the city where champagne comes from.
He took me to Taittinger champagne house, where we took a tour of their caves (cellars) and got to learn how champagne is made. At the end of it we got a taste of the delicious stuff.
The wall surrounding the Taittinger champagne house.
We then proceeded to drink more champagne. We found a café right in front of the Cathédral Notre-Dame de Reims, where the kings of France were crowned, and sipped on our glasses while enjoying the beautiful view.
The perfect view for enjoying a glass of champagne: the Cathédral Notre-Dame de Reims.
Then we went to yet another café to drink yet another glass of bubbly. This time our drinks came with a surprise aperitif of French fries.
For my birthday dinner we went to a delicious fondue restaurant, where I proceeded to eat more than my weight in melted cheese. It was heaven.
The next morning I woke up and opened a birthday package from my best friend. It came with a tiara (complete with rhinestones and a fuzzy, purple feather boa-type lining) and a hot pink birthday girl pin/ribbon. I proudly sported both while FBF and I hit up Reims’ monuments and received all sorts of funny looks from the French.
Me and my tiara being tourists all over the city of Reims!
Lunch in the city came with, of course, a glass of champagne, and after seeing all the sites we headed back home for little ol’ Lille.
All in all, it was the perfect way to turn twenty-four. Can it get any better than lots of champagne, tiaras, and travel? I think not.
I saw "24" and immediately thought of the Depository Bank of Zurich at 24 Rue Haxo from "The Da Vinci Code," but champagne is much better. Happy Birthday, youngin'.
ReplyDeleteI remember being 24 once! HA I'm glad you had a wonderful Birthday. Of course, I'm sure all the champagne made it even better!
ReplyDeleteHappy Birthday!
Kris
Love this! You rocked that tiara!
ReplyDeleteHAPPY BIRTHDAY! Love Rheims - I visited the Pommeroy caves when I went :)
ReplyDeleteJoshua: Thank you! And I agree, champagne is much better than a bank.
ReplyDeleteKris: Thank you! It was wonderful :)
Amber: Heck yes I did!
Betsy: Thank you!
I love Taittinger! I love Reims :) SO JEALOUS! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!
ReplyDeleteBrenna: Thank you! It was amazing!
ReplyDeleteHappy birthday! I would say it in French but I don't know where to put those Es, As, Us, and Xs. Spanish is so much easier to spell...!
ReplyDeleteHappy Birthday!!!
ReplyDeleteI wish you a very late happy birthday! I've never been to Reims but I heard it's a pretty nice place. I'm crazy about Champagne (I mean, good Champagne). Although some people drink it on special occasions, I really like opening a bottle when I have friends at my place. And a good bottle of Champagne doesn't necessarily cost more than a good bottle of wine.
ReplyDeleteThat makes me think that in the past, I used to drink (relatively) strong alcohol at the aperitif such as Pastis, Porto, rum cocktails etc. Since I've met my American friend, I much more into drinking white or red wine instead. That's something that she used to do when she was living in the US, and in the end I think I enjoy drinking wine more than other types of alcohol. But I don't know if this is purely an habit that my friend's family has or if it's common for you Americans to drink wine rather than stronger beverages.
Kaley: Thank you! And yes, Spanish is way easier to spell. Although once you know the rules, I found it gets a lot easier to spell in French than in English (since in English we have words from every other language, haha).
ReplyDeleteLinds: Thanks!
Emilie: Thank you! I love Champagne. It's so fun and festive.
As for drinking, I would say that we don't typically drink hard liquor before a meal. Although my parents are from the midwest and they say that everyone there drinks scotch. When we go out to bars/clubs, we stick to the hard stuff (vodka, tequila, etc), but I think that's the same here!