A little known fact about Astrid and I is that we are both born on the eleventh day, one month apart of the same year. Strangely we have several other good friends who are also born on the eleventh so we coined ourselves the “eleven sisters”. So, when we decided to go to Paris, we agreed we would celebrate our birthdays “eleven sister” style.

Our choice was a night at the Moulin Rouge. The area of Paris where the theatre sits was awash in neon lights and crowded patios – a side of Paris we had not yet seen.

The theatre was full of sparkle and completely over the top – with a crazy show, wild guests, dinner and champagne. It was exactly as you might imagine – feathers, glow in the dark sequences, men in pirate and clown costumes, and topless lip syncing. They weren’t great dancers. But really, none of that could distract from a fun birthday celebration in the City of Light.

We exited the theatre to find a wild and unruly man being carried off by police with a large black hood over his head to a nearby waiting police wagon. The crowd was spilling all around this chaos.  A fitting end to a wild show.
C