Paris Perfection

Me, Calum, Joe and Lola enjoying a glass of champagne.

Me and Joe in the restaurant at the Musee D'Orsay

Me and my Kir Royale!

Joe in the gardens at The Louvre

Me at The Louvre

Me about to board the Eurostar at St Pancras

Such a Perfect Day
It is very rare that you have a truly perfect day but my 50th birthday - 19th November 2008 - was one of them.

It started with an early rise at 5.45am to catch the 7.00am train to London.

It's the time I get up each day for work so I was fine, but for Joe it was a bit of a shock to the system.

The first thing he did when he woke up was wish me 'Happy Birthday'.

'Yes,' I thought to myself. My birthday is finally here and I felt as excited as a five year old.

What would the day bring? What would lunch be like in Paris? What presents would I get?

All day long I found it hard to believe that I was actually 50, having thought about it for so long.

What would it feel like? Would I feel any different?

Of course not.

Late Train
The only blip of the day was a late train.

The Eurostar to Paris was punctual to the minute, but the trains in the UK were all delayed.

It's one of the things I hate about this country - especially as I have to commute by train every day.

When we arrived at the station and saw that the train was delayed by 15 minutes, my heart sank. Today of all days - it didn't seem fair. Also, we weren't allowed to catch another train without paying the full fare which would cost us the same as travelling to Paris!

Joe could tell I was very anxious and I didn't relax until we were at St Pancras waiting to board the 8.40am train to Paris. We arrived with five minutes to spare. I was hugely relieved as it could all have gone so horribly wrong.

It was only when we were settled in our seats and the Eurostar was pulling out of St Pancras that I fully relaxed.

For me, that was when my perfect day began in earnest.

From then on everything went like clockwork.

Paris Perfection Paris is undoubtedly one of the most beautiful cities in the world. I've visited Paris more than any other city in Europe and yet I am still awestruck every time I behold it.

We caught the Metro to the Louvre and walked through the shopping mall, festooned with Christmas decorations, to the museum where we walked up through the pyramid.

We strolled through the gardens and then walked over the bridge to the Musee D'Orsay where we had a very long and delicious lunch.

The restaurant at the Musee D'Orsay was incredibly ornate and reminded me of The Ritz with its high, painted ceilings, elegant architecture, classical statues and sophisticated flower arrangements.

It was breathtaking beautiful.

Our waiter, Andre, looked after us wonderfully, moving us to a better (I told him it was my birthday) and generally ,making a fuss of us.

We spoke a mixture of English and French to make ourselves understood, but mostly we smiled. I told Andre about Calum and Lola and he told me about his two year old son.

Joe and I started our celebrations with a glass of Kir Royale which put us both in an excellent mood and we savoured everything - the delciously cold white wine, the sumptuous food and the simple pleasure of being somewhere that was incredibly special - fitting for the special occasion we were celebrating.

We were even treated to the sight of the French guard riding by on horseback, all decked out in their finery - something I'd never seen before.

We had a very long and relaxed lunch, followed by a langurous stroll along the Seine towards Notre Dame and the Ile St Louie with its exquisite (and expensive) shops.

As it grew darker, all the Christmas lights came on and twinkled like something out of a fairy tale.

By late afternoon it was time to head back to the Gare du Nord and catch the train home.

Alarm Bells
Going through security at passport control, I set off the alarm with my metal hair clip. I had to takle it out and was worried my hair would all fall down, waving my arms to demonstrate what I meant, which made the security officer laugh.

However, I kept my hand on the top of my head when I went through again and that kept my hair in place. I couldn't help giggling about it afterwards.

As I handed in my passprt to be checked, the passport officee wished me 'Happy Birthday' which also made me smile.

People can be so nice.

Home at Last
The journey back to London was smooth and trouble free. I replayed all the sights and sounds of Paris in my mind, savouring them like the sumptous lunch we enjoyed.

Thankfully, the train from London was on time and we were back home by 9.00pm.

Calum and Lola greeted us with hugs and kisses and wished me a more awake 'Happy Birthday' than they had done in the morning before I left.

They'd both dressed up for the occasion and it wasn't long before we opened the bottle of champagne I'd been keeping on ice and clinked out glasses.

We then cut the beautiful birthday cake I'd had made at Fitzbillie's in Cambridge. It was absolutely gorgeous.

A Pile of Presents
When I walked into the living room there was a big pile of presents waiting for me, together with lots and lots of cards.

It took me over two hours to open everything and I couldn't belive how many wonderful things I'd been given.

I was also very touched by the lovely things people had written in my cards.

The piece de resistance was an amazing card that Joe made me, complete with a pop-up picture of me inside as The Statue of Liberty - only holding a glass of champagne instead of a torch. Joe knows me so well!

I was speechless - and that doesn't happen very often.

My 50th birthday was definitely one of the happiest days of my life.

And one I will always remember.

Being 50 feels fabulous.