Mon Aniversaire a Paris

Well, I'm officially 27 and Paris was a great place to celebrate my birthday! I did miss being able to talk to friends and family, but I got lots of email and facebook greetings and several cards when I woke up. After a lazy morning, Rusty and I headed across the street to a picturesque little bakery for breakfast. We were able to order in French and enjoyed coffee and pastries on the street. Then we caught the RER to Versailles. I was pretty bummed when it started pouring and we had a very wet walk to the Chateau but Rusty had our rain jackets and it didn' last long. It was very crowded inside Louis XIV's famous Chateau but we were still able to see and take in the grandeur. I think the Hall of Mirrors and the Queen's Apartments were my favorite. And by the time we finished touring the inside, the rain had stopped!
From the Chateau, we headed out into the incredible gardens and took the 15 minute walk to the Grand and Petit Trianon and The Queen's Hamlet. These were Marie Antoinette's favorite places at Versailles and it was easy to see why. The Hamlet was both of our favorite spot. A breathtaking little village created in the late 1700s for Marie to escape the hustle and bustle of court life, we were ready to move in! We had a great tour and even took a few minutes to play frisbee. A little snack and we were on our way.
Back in Paris we got beautified for the evening and headed out to do some shopping. I spent my birthday money on the Champs Elysees, then we found a bistro on the Ile de la Cite for dinner. I had delicious onion soup, cheese fondue, and chocolate cake. Yum. An interesting side note...the street were full of people paying tribute to Michael Jackson. It really was surreal. We finished our dinner about midnight (the latest we've been out in a LONG time!) and headed home. It truly was an amazing birthday, one that I'll never forget.