An evening in Paris

Tonight we hired a babysitter so Uwe and I could enjoy an evening in Paris while the baby was sleeping. Uwe had planned this long before we got there, noting as a matter of fact, "It's Paris! We have to go out at night!"

We started off the evening by going to Taillevent, the highest rated restaurant in Paris, for dinner. It's regarded as the best restaurant in the world, and a coworker of mine who was also planning a trip to Paris a couple weeks after us, couldn't get reservations. She called and even had her hotel concierge in Paris try to get reservations, but was told they were fully booked for at least 2 months. The stars must have been aligned because Uwe had no trouble making our reservations.

The food and service were excellent, but what made it even more special is I got to wear my black cocktail dress (that has been hanging in the closet for many moons since Astrid's birth) and spend the evening with Uwe my first time in romantic Paris.

The quote of the evening came from Uwe during dinner: "When I die, bury me in this cheese. It's so good! Mmmmm. It's amazing!" That's no exaggeration. It really was the BEST cheese I've ever had. It literally melted in your mouth.

What a surprise it was when we had finished our entrees and our waiters brought over a cake with a lit candle shaped like the number 5 for us to blow out. Uwe had orchestrated it, letting the restaurant know we were celebrating our 5 year wedding anniversary (a little early). It was such a nice gesture. To accompany the cake, they also brought over yummy gourmet chocolates.

After dinner we walked from the restaurant to the Arc de Triomphe - the largest triumphal arch in the world, commissioned by Napoleon to honor his army and its 128 victorious battles. Standing under the arch the landscape is so flat you can see for miles. The view is breathtaking at night, but I couldn't help imagining how easy it was for the Nazi tanks to roll through the arch and down Champs-Elysees in 1940, during World War II.

At this point, both us party animals (Uwe and I) were ridiculously sleepy. I could barely keep my eyes open. I'm sure it was all the traveling that caught up with us, and also the good food and bottle of red wine. So we headed back to our apartment earlier than expected. I hung my black cocktail dress back up in the closet, laid my pearls back in their box, and was sound asleep by the time my head hit the pillow.