I have just got in the door from my Hen party and had it was of the best experiences of my life and bear in mind that I have been proposed to, won an science award when I was 14 and meet two of the five spice girls.
So I will try in the next few paragraphs to convey its awesomeness to you. You know about the delivery, see entry below, so on Friday I turned up a 7:00 with my bag in Marylebone and very, very nervous. And I meet everyone (everyone is Emily, Mieke, Georgia, Jaime, Phat Ang, Rachel, Charlotte, Rose and Zoe) at the pub and they presented me with a bride to be sash, which I wore first with embarrassment and then with pride. And we went and had our nails done, mine were bright pink and looked hot.
We went for dinner at a Malaysian restaurant, I had chicken satay and aubergine curry, if you are interested, and it was delicious and served on mini plates. And then I toddled off home.
At 9;30 the next morning Emily and Mieke collected me and we went into the city to meet everyone else and had breakfast at Fortnum and Mason, it was delicious and I had salmon and they gave me lemon to squeeze over which was covered in a muslin cloth so the pips didn’t get into my food. Such a simple idea but genius. And also the plates were lovely and the salt and pepper shakers weighed about 5 kilos each. The sign of a classy establishment.
Then a gold envelope was delivered to me after we finished our meal and inside was a clue! And I had to read it and solve it, and I am crap at puzzle solving but lucky my friends knew this and made the clues very easy. Did I tell you that they all rhymed like poems? I am so jealous of Rose who was the genius that put the lovely verses together, I can not rhyme to save my life. And that on the front of each envelope was a beautifully drawn letter? Which was handcrafted by charlotte and I am also jealous of her skills with pencils.
On the first there was a P and the clue lead me to Eros, the statue of love in Piccadilly circus and I had to kiss a picture of Jamie, which gave me my next clue, the next envelope had a letter A on it which lead me to a underwear store in Soho called Agent Provocateur. Where I was given a beautiful ivory silk garter for the wedding. Which matches my wedding underwear, it really was an uncanny coincidence. And my next clue which had a letter R on it and off I went to a bookshop to find a copy of Romeo and Juliet. I must be said it was a pretty small bookshop and my library skills weren’t up too much so it took about 10 minutes to find a copy of a book. And when I was in the right section, (drama in case you ever need to find a copy of Romeo and Juliet) and there was a man standing there and I thought he might be part of the surprise. But he wasn’t and he just look confused and then wandered off so I could get to the book. My next clue which lead me to Islington. We hoped on a number 73 and off we went. This envelope had a letter I on it. And I was sitting on the bus saying to Georgia. P-A-R-I what letter could come next? You have probably already guessed it but as I said I am crap with clues and I had no idea.
Then we went to Islington we headed off to a club and on the door was my last clue. The enveloped had an S on it and this is where my brain left my body. P-A-R-I-S, you would think it was pretty obvious. Well not to me. I said ‘Pairs, what’s pairs?’ obviously I am not only crap with problem solving I also can’t spell. And then I said hold on it spells PARIS and than I said okay Paris, I don’t get it. And then ladies and gentlemen the penny dropped. And I jumped up and down and said are we going to Paris? And everyone was like yes and then I screamed like really screamed. Like just won American Idol screamed and a little tear came out. I was going to Paris and I was excited.
But I didn’t have my passport. But Emily said we had enough time to go home to get it. In defence of my crap puzzle solving skills I hadn’t been asked to pack my passport so I was pretty confident we weren’t going anywhere overseas. So I was thinking logically I had just not counted on the genius of my friends. Then we went to a lovely pub in Islington for lunch where the waiters were hot. Better than stripers any day.
And then onwards to St Pancras to catch the Euro star. I still didn’t have my passport and was freaking a little bit. I’m not sure why, my hen’s had organised a scavenger hunt around London I don’t know why I doubted them. But then as we were waiting to get onto the euro star drinking champagne my passport and tickets arrived. I was overjoyed and so excited I could barely breathe.
Two and bit hours later we were in Paris. Fricken Paris and it was night time and glamorous and beautiful and breathtaking and everyone spoke French. I don’t think I can explain how fantastic it was to not knowing where you are going when you wake up in the morning and then see the Eiffel tower at night. It was one of the best feelings I have ever had.
And it gets better. We went to our luxury apartment in the centre of Paris, right next to a crepe shop. the girls had thought of everything.
And I ran around the apartment like I was on a reality TV show jumping up and down and screaming and being a madwoman and just full of joy. And when we arrived there was chilled champagne and Brie, and loads of it. Actually there was champagne everywhere we went. Everywhere. I think I drank about 10 litres of champagne over an 8-hour period. I had a bit of gas but it was worth it. And so I stood out on the balcony that overlooked a courtyard and looked at the Paris lights twinkle. I was in heaven and cried again. And if you know me you know I am not easily moved but there I was crying with joy.
And we had dinner, which was French sticks (from france) and cheese (also from france) possibly the best type of dinner ever. Also I had not had white bread in about 3 months so i think I was on a high from the bread alone. And then we got all dressed up in our best outfits and headed out into the Paris night. At 11:45 we went to Crazy Horse (or le crazy horse in french) which is a famous burlesque show in Paris. And the burlesque dancers were amazing with perfect bodies and perfect boobs. It was fantastic and you guessed it we drank more champagne. By the time we left it was 2:30 and I was tired but so happy I couldn’t stop smiling. We went back to the apartment ate some more and crashed out.
And just when you thought it couldn’t get any better we woke up to a glorious Paris morning, we had breakfast and then walked along the seine in the sunshine eating more crepes and saw the Eiffel tower and the tunnel where princess Diana died (I took a photo of this) and then strolled the Parisian streets like the chic glamorous women we are. We did play a game of truth and dare on Saturday night so we were staying true to our Antipodeans roots.
And then home on the euro star and here I am now. Oh and did I mention I my hen’s were so generous I didn’t open my wallet once? I was spoiled in every possible way. And I had such a great time laughing and gossiping and just being in freakin Paris!
I am indebted to every single one of my hens and can’t remember a happier 48 hours in my life. The wedding has a lot to live up too and I am not sure this can be topped. It was so good I didn’t even miss Jamie once, but don’t tell him that. I didn’t take many photos because I wanted to remember the day in full techni-colour in my head. I have put in links to some of the places we went so you can visualise in your head.
Thanks again to all my amazing hen’s for the best time ever. Ever. Ever. My only hope it that I can return the favour one day.
Am off now to relive the good times in my head over and over again.
Xxxxxx
Also Jamie knew where I was going and secretly put a lock into my bag so I could lock my suitcase and a luggage tag. And that is why I am marrying him.
