{"id":3427,"date":"2026-03-21T04:19:00","date_gmt":"2026-03-21T09:19:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/travel.monkeydads.com\/2026-pieter60\/a-last-surprise\/"},"modified":"2026-03-21T04:19:00","modified_gmt":"2026-03-21T09:19:00","slug":"a-last-surprise","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/travel.monkeydads.com\/2026-pieter60\/a-last-surprise\/","title":{"rendered":"A Last Surprise"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">We traveled to Paris on the high-speed TGV from Barcelona and best of all, there were dogs on the train. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">After checking in to our hotel, we walked around for a while, bought some fancy chocolate and had a glass of wine before dinner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Dinner was the quintessential cherry-on-top of a  great culinary birthday journey. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">We were able to get last minute reservations on a front window table in the restaurant in the Eiffel Tower. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Neither one of us has ever been up the tower before, and to go up and then have an amazing dinner at the best table in the restaurant was very special. The view was spectacular. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">After dinner we walked up to the Trocadero to see the hourly flickering of the tower.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It was a late and fantastic night. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-video\"><video controls src=\"https:\/\/travel.monkeydads.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/images-posts\/1574-a-last-surprise.mov\"><\/video><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-paragraph\">High speed train through the French countryside. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/travel.monkeydads.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/images-posts\/1575-a-last-surprise.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1575\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Welcome to Paris.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/travel.monkeydads.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/images-posts\/1576-a-last-surprise.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1576\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Fun view from the hotel room. The courtyard was quiet.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/travel.monkeydads.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/images-posts\/1577-a-last-surprise.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1577\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Our favorite street.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/travel.monkeydads.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/images-posts\/1578-a-last-surprise.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1578\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Last bougie chocolate buy to be able to pack it all.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/travel.monkeydads.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/images-posts\/1579-a-last-surprise.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1579\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Sneakies before dinner.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/travel.monkeydads.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/images-posts\/1580-a-last-surprise.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1580\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">She is such a beauty at night.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/travel.monkeydads.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/images-posts\/1581-a-last-surprise.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1581\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-video\"><video controls src=\"https:\/\/travel.monkeydads.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/images-posts\/1582-a-last-surprise.mov\"><\/video><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-paragraph\">Up we go!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/travel.monkeydads.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/images-posts\/1583-a-last-surprise.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1583\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Our restaurant for tonight.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/travel.monkeydads.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/images-posts\/1584-a-last-surprise.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1584\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The view from our window table.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/travel.monkeydads.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/images-posts\/1585-a-last-surprise.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1585\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The \u2018second floor\u2019 was surpisingly empty.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/travel.monkeydads.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/images-posts\/1586-a-last-surprise.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1586\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The last time we were in Paris this was covered in volleyball fields. (See the <a href=\"https:\/\/travel.monkeydads.com\/2024-paris\/\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/travel.monkeydads.com\/2024-paris\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">2024 Some Summer Games<\/a> journal)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/travel.monkeydads.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/images-posts\/1587-a-last-surprise.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1587\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-video\"><video controls src=\"https:\/\/travel.monkeydads.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/images-posts\/1588-a-last-surprise.mov\"><\/video><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-paragraph\">Best view of the tower with perfect timing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/travel.monkeydads.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/images-posts\/1589-a-last-surprise.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1589\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The way <em>in <\/em>to the Metro is so charming and French.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/travel.monkeydads.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/images-posts\/1590-a-last-surprise.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1590\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The way <em>out<\/em>, not so much.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>We traveled to Paris on the high-speed TGV from Barcelona and best of all, there were dogs on the train. After checking in to our hotel, we walked around for a while, bought some fancy chocolate and had a glass of wine before dinner. Dinner was the quintessential cherry-on-top of a great culinary birthday journey. [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[51],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3427","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-france"],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":false,"thumbnail":false,"medium":false,"medium_large":false,"large":false,"1536x1536":false,"2048x2048":false,"mailpoet_newsletter_max":false},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"monkeydads","author_link":"https:\/\/travel.monkeydads.com\/2026-pieter60\/author\/monkeydads\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"We traveled to Paris on the high-speed TGV from Barcelona and best of all, there were dogs on the train. After checking in to our hotel, we walked around for a while, bought some fancy chocolate and had a glass of wine before dinner. Dinner was the quintessential cherry-on-top of a great culinary birthday journey.&hellip;","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/travel.monkeydads.com\/2026-pieter60\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3427","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/travel.monkeydads.com\/2026-pieter60\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/travel.monkeydads.com\/2026-pieter60\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/travel.monkeydads.com\/2026-pieter60\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/travel.monkeydads.com\/2026-pieter60\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3427"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/travel.monkeydads.com\/2026-pieter60\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3427\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/travel.monkeydads.com\/2026-pieter60\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3427"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/travel.monkeydads.com\/2026-pieter60\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3427"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/travel.monkeydads.com\/2026-pieter60\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3427"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}