Moores on Tour!

Best Siblings Ever!

This weekend is probably up there with one of the best weekends of my life so far, but it definitely wins the award for the most tiring three and a half days ever. Being a tourist in Paris was exhausting and I had to drag myself to school today. I’ve not long finished my 11 hour day of work and I can barely keep my eyes open. I’m forcing myself to battle through the tiredness because I have no other time this week to write this post. I apologise in advance if it takes on the air of a sleep talker’s ramblings: it might just be that.

Everyone (Mum, Dad, Nanny, Gramps, Molly, Jack and Poppy) arrived Thursday night, which was my Dad’s 50^th Birthday. It was so amazing to see everyone again as it was the longest I’ve ever been without seeing them (we don’t even skype!). After an hour and a half trek from the airport to my flat the birthday celebrations commenced, and what a birthday it was. I’d decorated the flat with banners and fifty balloons so that was Dad’s first surprise of many. He got some awesome presents including a sky dive from Mum for the both of them!

The best part however, wasn’t the presents. We have a peculiar mission in our family which is that every birthday we try to make the special person cry as much as possible. This means we all write incredibly heartfelt, emotional cards and within seconds of starting, not just Dad, but everyone was in floods of tears. 

Mum and I upped our game this year as it was a big birthday; I made Dad a card that was 50 thank yous but Mum completely upstaged that by writing Dad a poem - let’s just say there wasn’t a dry eye in the house by the end. Molly then told Dad about the presentation she’d put together for him. We pressed play and the crying started again. There were photos I’d never seen before, of us all, of Dad as a little boy and as a young man. A song Poppy had written and performed specifically for the presentation was the backing track and it was incredible. It was finished off with messages from all of us including one from Dad's brother Darren who hadn't been able to make it to Paris. The whole thing was just perfect. 

The night was finished with champagne on the roof with a view of the Eiffel Tower. I went to sleep feeling incredibly blessed to have such a close knit family and Dad said he felt like George Bailey (if you don’t know who that is stop reading this blog and watch It’s A Wonderful Life right now!).

Me and the Birthday Boy!

To cut a very action packed weekend down a bit, I’ll just tell you we did pretty much everything, sans museums; the Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triomphe, Champs Elysées, Notre Dame and Montmartre. It was very tiring being a tourist and I’ve definitely enjoyed going back to being a resident today, instead of resident tour guide! Two things I would like to recommend to any fellow Parisians are Le Basilic in Montmartre which was by far the best restaurant I have eaten in since being in Paris and is very reasonable - two courses for €11,90. The other thing was the English speaking comedy night hosted by Sebastian Marx which costs 10 euros and includes a drink. Both of these were my personal highlights of the weekend and you guys really should give them a go.

Despite my above recommendations and my meticulous planning of how I wanted the weekend to go, looking back, my favourite bits were completely spontaneous and free. We played games on the long metro rides, scrabble at our apartment (not an easy feat with the French version), chatted non-stop about everything and got the giggles countless times. This is what I love about families. You can have the most remarkable time doing something seemingly unremarkable. 

I have realised these past few months that I can survive on my own and I don't need my family with me all the time but I definitely need them close by. They are crazy and annoying and frustrating but they are mine and that's why they're perfect. I love you all guys.

The Gang

I apologise for both the tardiness and the length/content of this week's post but I'm slowly starting to resemble a zombie so having to go to sleep now. Thank you for reading, I really appreciate it.

Bisous à tous xxx