Happy Birthday Paige!

So I missed a few birthdays first semester when I was in Paris - Meredith turned 21 at the end of January and then Kristen turned 21 at the end of February. Paige waited to turn 21 until she was in Paris, so I was lucky enough to finally get to celebrate a birthday with them! I tried to make up for missing Meredith's and Kristen's, so we turned our trip into a big birthday celebration... 

So March 6th we woke up in Paris to celebrate Paige's birthday! It was a Sunday, so we went to Hillsong for church in the morning. I loved this church so much and looked forward to going every week, I was so glad for them to go with me! It was probably a little difficult because the worship songs were in French, and the sermon was translated, but I think they really enjoyed it. I miss this place so much and hope to go back someday!

After church we headed to the Louvre, not actually going inside, but just to see the Tuileries Gardens and the courtyard. It was a beautiful day!

Louvre Courtyard

As we were crossing the street to the Louvre, all of a sudden Kristen screamed "James Blunt"!! Yep, she saw James Blunt crossing the street and he walked right passed her. So of course we all ran back across the street and tried to catch up with him. We had just missed him! James Blunt is one of Kristen's favorites, so she was a bit star-struck. We saw our celebrity! He was there for Paige's birthday, naturally. 

Fountains at the Pyramid

We walked down rue Rivoli to slowly make our way to the Champs-Elysees for some birthday shopping. You can't get much better than that if you ask me! We stopped along the way in the middle of the Place de la Concorde. This is one of the best places in Paris to see the city. From the middle of the square you can see the Eglise Madeleine, the Musee de l'Orangerie and the Tuileries Gardens (with the Louvre behind), the Eiffel Tower, the Hotel de Crillon, the U.S. Embassy, the Assemblee Nationale across the Seine, the Champs-Elysees and the Arc de Triomphe, and of course, the Obelisk de Luxor and the famous fountains in the middle of the square. It's quite a sight!

Place de la Concorde

Paige was especially excited to see the fountains. This is where a scene from The Devil Wears Prada was filmed, and Anne Hathaway was filmed at one of these fountains. It was fun for Paige to come here on her birthday! We all four climbed up on the fountain and just sat and enjoyed ourselves and the view. One of our best memories of the trip for sure. 

Sitting at the Fountain in the Place de la Concorde 

After soaking in as much as we could, we crossed the street to begin our walk down the Champs-Elysees. First stop: Louis Vuitton. 

Louis Vuitton!

Champs-Elysees and the Arc de Triomphe

After a full afternoon, we headed back to our apartment to get ready for dinner. We went to one of my favorite restaurants over by the Eiffel Tower, Cafe Constant. Since this restaurant doesn't take reservations, we put our name down for a table and wandered over to the Eiffel Tower since we had some time. It's so beautiful at night!

 Eiffel Tower at Night

We made our way back to the restaurant right in time. We sat upstairs and had an amazing dinner, and of course followed by delicious dessert! The perfect birthday dinner, happy birthday Paige! After dinner we headed back to the Eiffel Tower, but this time we were going to the top! Thankfully there was almost no line (one of the perks about Paris in March) so we quickly bought our tickets and filed into the elevator. We made friends with some nice people from Dallas, such a small world! They were more than happy to celebrate Paige's birthday with us, the more the merrier! We made it to the top and what a view! It was much higher than I expected though, and very windy! We all were convinced we were going to blow away, thankfully we didn't. 

Us on the top of the Eiffel Tower!

Paris at Night - View from the Top

It was a great day and the best way I could think to spend Paige's 21st birthday!