Sometimes, when you’re a traveler at heart but the timing isn’t right, you have to make a location come to you. So when I realized that my 30th birthday was not just happening on a Saturday night, but the Saturday night before the Oscars, I decided to bring Hollywood to Paris. Read More →
Browsing Category Birthday
Things I Learned… Recently
- French rugby fans are alllllllllllllmost as crazy as American football fans. Almost.
- If I can eat nachos, I will.
- I love throwing surprise birthday parties. Even if, on the following day, my apartment looks like Hurricane Irene was on the guest list.
- When in Europe, it’s important to know the difference between a messy shirt and a Messi shirt.
- It’s time for me to act like the confident, young (I can still say young, right?!) woman that I am.
- I no longer find it amusing when French people tell me to “get a French boyfriend” as a solution to my language-learning woes.
- A PS3 may have been one of the best investments I made in 2011.
- At the moment, having a French name is a relatively large disadvantage (Living in France + French name = people assuming you speak French).
- I will now start noticing Frog Prince images and references everywhere I go.
- I should not challenge men to drinking contests (unless tequila is involved?).
- I love Indian food way more than I initially realized.
- Sometimes all you need to feel refreshed is a haircut. A manicure doesn’t hurt either.
- Travel within Birmingham, UK requires a rental car. Or at least a lot of cash for taxis.
- It’s hard to write good blog posts when I’m on the road.
- It takes longer and longer for my body to recover after getting sick.
- I tend to complicate things.
- Oysters? Yes, please.
- For some reason, listening to music in only one ear gives me a headache.
- The beers in Munich are huge.
- When people start asking me about my dog, I can’t stop talking about her. ❤
- Dramamine is the best way to ensure sleep on a long flight.
- Letting go of grudges is much better than holding onto them.
- I have awesome friends (Okay, I definitely already knew this. But I was certainly reminded recently!).
- Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays. Even if I am vegetarian.
- I like red nail polish.
The Art of Surprise
2011 has been a year of many surprises.
Early in the year, my friends and former boyfriend plotted a surprise for my birthday as they all showed up to meet us in NYC. Since arriving in Paris I have been present for three surprise birthday gatherings.
With all the surprise birthday bashes happening this year, it was no trouble finding the inspiration to throw one for my Dad, who turned 50.
After teasing my Dad since his 49th birthday about his looming march to the top of the “hill,” I figured I had to follow-through with my threats to celebrate and thoroughly embarrass him. And what better theme for this momentous occasion than Hawaii 5-0? If your answer is “none,” you would be correct.
For his present I decided the best thing I could possibly get him would be a little face time. But how do you wrap that? I figured the best method of delivery was to buy some plane tickets, conveniently fail to mention that I would be coming home, and offer up this little gift at his party–in person. Needless to say, it made for a pretty awesome reaction. Here are some photos of the surprise in action:
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- The moment of the big surprise!
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- Happy as clams 🙂
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- Decked out in our Hawaii 5-0 attire
Any other surprises planned for 2011? You’ll just have to wait and see… 😉
A Big Apple Birthday Bash
After you turn 25, birthdays start becoming less and less exciting.
But I still want to feel like a kid and have a blast! So this year I decided to go to one of my favorite cities on earth to celebrate: New York.
Here are a few shots from our site-seeing:
Me and Matt Lauer!
Ahhh! It's the Evil Empire State Building!
Checking out Central Park from the Top of the Rock
And as if being in New York on my birthday wasn’t great enough, my wonderful boyfriend surprised me by coordinating getting some of my closest friends to make an appearance in the city for some birthday festivities! I’ll keep these pictures to a minimum. You don’t really want to know 😉
Don't worry, there were more of us to help with the consumption of those bowls...
I always love the time I get to spend in New York, but this trip was especially awesome. Thanks to all of those who made it memorable!
xoxo
Ciao!
The Perpetual Passenger 