Adventure, baby!

Europe

Paris, France – Getting Engaged!

/ Family, France / 3 Comments

The absolute highlight of both Paris and the trip was getting engaged.

Alec went to a lot of effort to create the perfect day for me, and it truly was!

First, Alec booked an amazing hotel for us to stay in for two nights, called Jays Paris. They also upgraded our room for free, which was unexpected! The hotel was made up of only six suites, all of which were individually themed, and extremely luxurious. The service is also what sets Jas apart. We found chocolates on our pillows, fresh fruit left for us in the evening, and the weather report was put under our door each morning! Our suite looked over a private garden, so we could enjoy looking at beautiful flowers every morning.


Since I had fallen sick when we drove through Giverny, we decided to take a day trip back. It was so beautiful – the most amazing day trip. The gardens are just so exquisite I can see how Monet was inspired to create his masterpieces here. Alec told me later he was planning on proposing at the gardens, but the ring was stuck in the bottom of his bag and he couldn’t get it out!


Next on my perfect day was chocolate shopping and dessert sampling at Fauchon, a Paris institution that was recommended to me by my dear friend Masa. We spend a few happy hours here buying delightful chocolate and trying more avante guard desserts, like the one below (it looks like any other tart, but believe me when I say I think I found the source of Zumbo‘s inspiration!)

We decided to go out to dinner somewhere special for our last night in Paris, and went back to the hotel to get changed. I was ready to go and waiting for the taxi in our suite when Alec came around to where I was sitting, dropped to one knee, and presented me with a Tiffany & Co box.

Even though we’d been talking about marriage for a while, nothing prepares you for the moment! I had tears in my eyes as he opened the box, took out the ring and asked me if I would marry him.

Dinner to celebrate was at L’Arpege, a three-Michelin star restaurant that focuses on vegetables. It was the perfect place to celebrate being newly engaged! The food and service was just divine, with friendly people happy to explain every detail about the food, help us chose wine, and accommodate our every eating desire. The food was just exquisite – the best meal of both our lives, with amazing wine to match, chosen by the sommelier. Four hours passed in a flash, and we have never been to a restaurant so lovely before – and doubt we might for a long time again.

This was taken at the end of dinner by our very friendly waiter.


And so it was back to the hotel! The most amazing day every was coming to an end, but the most exciting things are still to follow – planning our wedding with our family and friends, and beginning our life together as a married couple. I can’t wait!

At the hotel after dinner – totally blissed out.

My new bling, close up.

Proudly displaying my bling – loving being a newly engaged girl!

France! Parisian Highlights

/ France, Holidays / 0 comment

An amazing week in Paris. Too much to go into detail about, so here is a touch of my favourite city.

Saint Chapelle is my favourite church, possibly of any I’ve ever seen. It’s just so beautiful with all of the stained glass.

Arc de Triomphe – I drove around this in peak hour traffic. Scariest driving experience of my life.

Delicious tart from Laduree – snobby evil staff, tasty pastry.

Gargoyle at Notre Dame.

The Louvre – home of fabulous art. Love the sculptures in particular.

Notre Dame in the sun – beautiful church.

Our hotel was only a five minute walk from Notre Dame. Amazing location. Amazing city!

Dinner with friends – Shelley and Eric met us for the weekend. Paris with friends is even better!

Versailles bike ride – one of the best things we did in Paris.

Eiffel Tour at night – love it when it’s all lit up.

Tour de France – what an amazing vibe and day.

Napoleon’s tomb in Hotel les Invalide. Very impressive!

Sewers tour! Made Alec happy 🙂

Sacre Coeur – prettiest situated church ever, with a great view of Paris.

France: Normandy, The Highlights

/ France / 1 Comment

We arrived in France after a terrible flight, exhausted, picked up our hire car and drove to Giverny. I picked up some kind of bug and was unfortunately too sick to leave the hotel, so we missed out on seeing Monet’s gardens.

Sick, but still smiling in Giverny.

We drove onwards to Rouen, and saw the tower where Joan of Arc was held, trialled, and the area nearby where she was burned at the stake.


Next stop was Bayeux so we could drive out to Mont Saint Michel. Sadly I was still sick at this point, so we took a day of rest for me in bed, then went on a tour to the Mont the next day. It was uber-touristy sadly, and over-run with people, but still a great place to visit.

Mid-way up the Mont.

Berlin – Sydney Dance Company

/ Germany, Sydney Life / 0 comment

Rosalie and I saw the Sydney Dance Company perform Berlin at the Theatre Royal. We’ve been getting sick of the Australian Ballet, so it was a great change to see a new company.

What I loved most about the company is that all of the dancers look completely different. Different body types, shapes, so they look like real people.

The Show was quite unexpected – set in Berlin, it went for about 75 mins with no interval, on the one stage set. The performance really flew by – I was entranced by the delicacy of the choreography. The show was divided into a group of smaller pieces, each one with a different mood and character set epitomising Berlin. The live singer with giant angel wings added to the great atmosphere.

It was a little strange, with some of the characters dressed like circus performers, but I really thoroughly enjoyed it.

Pinky and the Brain take Over Europe

/ Europe, Travel / 0 comment

30 days, nine countries, 3,000 photos and one wedding later, we’re back where we started from.

Europe is great because:

They love dogs. I’ve never seen so many happy, healthy, butt-sniffing pooches before. Now if only they picked up their poop as well, it would be completely AWESOME.

Berries taste 100 time better than they do back home. As does pasta. Cheese however, goes the opposite and tastes blander as the others improve.

Puzzling things I will never understand:

Czech dairy – it looks like cream, but tastes like nothing. It’s a big wedge of calories for no pleasure.

Pedestrian crossings in Budapest are more of a suggestion than an actual road rule. Cross at your own peril. The car coming towards you is indeed speeding up at the sight of you, so you’d better movie it.

Bidets in hotels – they take up heaps of room in tiny little bathrooms and are there even when other basic things are lacking, like towel racks or soap dispensers for example.

Public bathrooms in Italy seem to be lacking in toilet paper (and a lid you can sit on) most of the time, so alway carry emergency tissues and do some leg squats before your trip to prepare yourself.

What I missed the most:

English TV. I am now very good friends with BBC, CNN and MTV as they are the only English channels shown all over Europe. I have also read about 6 novels in the past month and become acquainted with all kinds of world politics.