one year!

The 14th of December! A big part of the reason for our travels. I think most of you know that a trip to Paris in December was in part about getting away but mostly it was for Kate and I to celebrate our first wedding anniversary somewhere special. And with Paris that’s what it was.

the top is there somewhere

A slow start to the day and we headed for probably the main destination of our whole trip (no, Star Wars was not out yet!)… the Eiffel Tower. Really? you ask. The Eiffel Tower? Yep. We thought having lunch at a Michelin star restaurant up the Eiffel Tower was as good a way as any to celebrate.

hanging with my honey at le tour eiffel

It was a bit foggy so seeing the top of the tower was impossible. It added to the atmosphere though, and we could see our restaurant level,so we knew all would be cool. Being a little early we did the obligatory wander for selfies about the tower. Clearly something was up however, as much of the surrounding gardens were off limits, with dozens of police and military all about. Strange. We couldn’t quite work out what was happening, but there was definitely much less hustle and bustle than we were used to.

lunch time!

12:30pm arrived and it was lunch time! No waiting in queues for us… it was straight to our very own special elevator for a quick trip up to Le Jules Verne.

As soon as we entered it was a different world, that admittedly I am not too used to. Sure I eat at lots of good places, but not typically waited on like this. I guess you get what you pay for!

lunch dates

From that moment I have to say it was pretty mind blowing. Everything that had happened for the past year or so, and now being up here was just nuts. Kate was grinning from ear to ear the whole time and I was just trying to wrap my head around it all.

what to choose?!

For lunch we had to choose from a number of options. Kate opted for the Parmenteir (soup with truffle), the venison, and the chocolate tower, while I opted for duck pate, veal, and quince & grapefruit vacherin. Decisions decisions!

Of course there was also champagne aperitifs and wine to follow. We were making the most of it.

my pate

mmm… soup

veal… yum!

For the next 3 hours time just flew by. The combination of being up the Eiffel Tower, being waited on so expertly, the food, and the occasion meant that it just went by so quickly. Both of us were reluctant for it to end!

grapefruity goodness

these small truffles were AMAZING!

As our desserts came out we had a little more celebrating, with the staff wishing us a happy anniversary in their own way. Mmm… macarons!

a glorious parisian day

Alas, time had come to leave. The other advantage of our lunch locale was easy access to the main observation deck. While in the restaurant our view had cleared spectacularly and we were greeted with a glorious Parisian day. We couldn’t believe how fortunate we had been… some rain on our first day and that was it.

wandering the champs elysee

By this time it was 4pm and we kept moving. Kate was keen for a little shopping, so we did the wander from the Arc de Triomphe, down the Champs Elysee, toward Opera. Thankfully Kate wasn’t really interested in too much outside of some Parisian staples for herself and her sister (i.e. handbags and makeup) so we enjoyed the stroll more than anything.

the sausage could wait

There were a bunch of Christmas type markets along the Champs Elysee. One advertised XXL Sausage, but I was determined to wait until Berlin for my XXL sausage thank you very much!

a night at the opera

We ended up at Opera and wandered into a nearby Uniqlo (my favourite after discovering them in Japan 5 years ago). Why Uniqlo? Well, the combination of winter and Star Wars meant I got myself a Star Wars down jacket! Yes! Now you know what to expect to see me in wearing in most photos from here on it 🙂

cheeky invader

By this point we were about spent. Our amazing day was about done, outside of the metro trip back. On the walk back to the hotel I spied my 3rd invader. Sadly I had not seen anymore in my wandering… I must have just been oblivious with the other beauty of Paris surrounding me.

a final treat

Back at the hotel, we finished off the day with our little takeaway treat from Le Jules Verne. Mmmm… what a sweet way to end the day.