3 is the Perfect Number

I don't really understand why people aren't into birthdays. Especially when the birthday happens to be their own.

Ok, Ok, come back and ask me in 20 years if I still enjoy celebrating my birthday but until then, bring on the chocolate cake and a great excuse for being smothered in love.

That said, Yann was less than thrilled about his birthday this year. So, I naturally decided to make him own up and recognize his 33 years of life on this earth with a 'Celebrate Yann' weekend.

The weekend was meant to be a steady stream of fun in 3 parts: delicious restaurant on Friday night, drinks with friends Saturday, swimming Sunday and World Cup final on Sunday night. Ok so that's 4 parts. I'm not good at math.

For anyone visiting Paris, Brasserie Thoumieux is far and away the best restaurant I have been to in the city...or maybe ever, anywhere.

Originally established in 1923 as a culinary escape for bourgoise families in the 7th arrondisement, the restaurant saw a bit of a decline in the 70's and 80's. In the past few years, the brasserie has been restored to its streamlined black and white checkered backdrop and, with celebrated chef Jean-François Piege now at the reins, the food is devine and the atmosphere is nothing less than...well, like a 1950's film. I half expected to run into Grace Kelly in the ladies room.

After a night out just the two of us, I had organized drinks with Yann's friends on Saturday evening. We had a great time at a new bar called La Conserverie - with inventive drinks made of rasberry and watermelon. That's right, watermelon.

But what I enjoyed the most was the conversation. I appreciate Yann's friends for bringing up topics that matter to everyone but don't have to do with politics or weather.

It's a difficult feat to do for the French.

When your country has something like 500 political parties and the president's wife is an ex-model and musician, there's naturally going to be a lot to talk about.

Anyways. Sunday followed with a new discovery as well - this time in the Parisian suburb of Puteaux. We meant to give the public pool a try as it was another hot day. However, we were met with a big sign screaming 'INDERDIT' due to too many people having the same idea:
the pool was full.

So we wandered around and found a great park with roses, fountains and large plastic orange bunnies and blue plastic snails.

That's right. Orange bunnies as big as an eight year old boy. Hundreds of these bunnies and snails were just sitting there throughout the park, sometimes in little families of 4, sometimes all alone. If they were different colors I would have thought they were life sized Peeps.

Strange plastic animals aside, it was a great park and perfect for taking a nice afternoon nap. And nap we did - while being serenaded by a band of French guys trying to sing Celtic jigs of course.

So that was the 'Celebrate Yann' weekend in a nutshell. I think I made the boy appreciate just how beautiful birthdays can be and forced him to grasp the joys of life on this earth. Mission accomplished.

Oh yeah, and Spain won the World Cup.