something classy and fizzy

Tis the season to have a birthday, tra la la la la la la la la. This time it was Jess's (this time being a few weeks ago but i've been a bit lazy). Nothing beats a birthday surprise. Me and Alice had gotten our thinking hats on and decided on something classy and fizzy. All Jess knew was that at 20h00 she would meet her date outside Hermès and that she should look chic.

Avec date.

The classy part involved a fabulous wine bar called Aux Quatre Coins. Think wine bar meets vending machine (it's much cooler than i've just made it sound). You get a card, top it up with €, choose which wine you want and how much of it. Then you keep going until your card's used up and you're nice and merry. Obviously there are some great and expensive wines to taste and obviously we pumped for the cheapest. 

Then we brought the fireworks to the party. Or the party to the fireworks if you're splitting hairs.

And then in came the mojitos like the animals in Noah's ark..

Two by two!!!!!!

At this point mystery glasses of raspberry champagne appeared on the table. No mindsweeping involved, nor did we accept drinks from strangers. I'll remind you that's a health hazard. However i may have accidentally concealed a bottle of champagne on my person for when the clock struck midnight and it was officially birthday time. In hindsight this was also a health hazard. And about the point where things started to go a bit downhill..

Jess's actual birthday was a much more chilled affair. Sitting in the park, hair of the dog-ing, eating our hangover, playing cards and listening to sounds of the 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s and 00s.

When in France...

The birthday bella with her birthday baguette

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storm's a brewin (birthday pt. 2)

I'm a harper. One of those people that see something they like and then don't stop harping on about it. A couple of weeks ago i walked past this restaurant and fell a little bit in love. Blackboard walls, gingham table cloths, neon lights, nice shrubbery - everything i look for in an eatery. Lucky for me, some little birdies picked up on my harping and booked the best table in the house as a birthday surprise.

First time oyster-er. 

We shared grilled sardines, fried squid, king prawns, a herring salad and a whole lotta moules. Now i know the salad looks a bit naf. We thought the same when it arrived. But ohmygoodnessgraciousme, never judge a salad by its limited selection of crudites. This was an absolute smoked herring taste sensation.

Alice showing us her mussels

And if you haven't got an accordion serenading you whilst you eat on your (almost) birthday what have you got?

They even picked up on the fact that each day i popped into sephora to do some 'perusing' i'd come out smelling of the same scent!!

For dessert we went back to the sorbet hut and then headed down to the quais to watch the sunset.

Not even the stubborn clouds cramping the sunset's style could dampen my spirits. 

Perfect day x 1000000

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storm's a brewin (birthday pt. 1)

The best thing about having a birthday is that anything goes. So when the forecast shows a storm's a-brewin on your birthday, you are perfectly entitled to pick another. Thursday i showed up, instructed to wear my birthday sandals and something with an elastic waist to allow for excessive food consumption. The rest was a surprise.

Alice and Jess had jampacked the days itinerary full of my favourite things and foodstuffs. Lunchtime was a pique nique. Olives, saucisson, carambars and carrots and houmous as far as the eye can see.

Then we wandered on down to the quais

Sangria by the Miroir d'eau

We'd heard tales of mist coming up from the miroir d'eau once in a blue moon but this was the first time we'd actually seen it. Over excited doesn't quite cover it.

All the jumping and dancing and excitement proved to be hot work so we went for a dip in the fountain to cool down. On the first week we had a guided tour of Bordeaux so i can tell you that there's a lot of history behind this fountain. But as the tour was in french, i cannot tell you much more than that.

Next stop the sorbet hut. Now for me ice cream is a very serious thing. I've trawled around half the gelaterias in Venice, searching for the best coconut ice cream. If a good ice cream can make a day, a bad ice cream can ruin it. With this in mind it took us all a good 20 minutes to choose flavours. In the end Alice went for cassis, Jess for black cherry & citron basilica (lemon and basil) and i opted for rhubarb. Phew, a solid 7.75/10!

On to Place du Parlement, my favourite square in Bordeaux, to meet beautiful Marina for some aperitifs

On to the next part of the surprise... 

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