Francesca and Henk-Jan's Backpacking Trip!

On the 23rd of April I was set to turn 23-years-old! And you all know what that means… the celebration of my golden birthday! A golden birthday is when you turn 8 on the 8th of June or rather when you turn the age that matches the number of your day of birth!

Henk had been furiously running around the city of Hue planning my birthday the two days before, making sure I’d have a perfect golden birthday. I knew what he was up to but had no idea about the details until the day of! The 22nd I relaxed in the room (or I tried to anyways… I had gotten a bit sick, probably something I ate, and I couldn’t keep anything in my stomach) while he went out numerous times to “pick something up” or “get something arranged.” I didn’t know what was going on, but I was excited!

When I woke up on the 23rd, Henk presented me with some awesome presents right away: a beautiful bouquet of 22 roses with 1 lily symbolizing my 23rd. The lily made a fantastic addition, adding a splash of white in the middle of the roses. There were also tiny purple flowers all around the roses to enhance the bulk and beauty of the flowers. To my delight the entire bouquet was incredibly sparkly… it had been sprayed with silver sparkles and smelled so fresh! As an added bonus, Henk had designed the decorative netting that surrounded the roses… purple and gold, purple because it’s my favorite color and gold because of my golden birthday! I was very excited to receive roses, because although I have gotten flowers before… never roses! Yay!



Before he came back with the flowers, Henk had presented me with a small envelope. I opened it and found a card inside which explained to me he would be gone for a little while to pick a few things up. Once he returned, he gave me a second card which told me to check the fridge… inside I found my awesome birthday cake! Extremely chocolate-y, the cake was decorated with large chocolate pieces and had a smooth chocolate filling punctuated by chocolate chips in each layer. Awesome!! Part of the description I ate off since it got a little smudged before the picture, but I still think you can all read what it says.



After we each had a slice of cake and stored the rest away, Henk gave me a little baggie of additional cards, plus my main present which was a story he wrote me along with a book and promise of more stories to come. On my request! Now that’s the kinda gift I like… the one I can demand more of! But the presents weren’t over yet! I was informed that we’d be going to breakfast. As we came down the stairs and headed towards breakfast I quickly realized that *everyone* already knew it was my birthday! I was congratulated downstairs by the staff, by the waitress and owner once we got to the restaurant, and throughout the rest of the day by others we ran into. Henk had informed the city of Hue that it was my birthday!



I had no idea at the time, but Henk had pre-ordered some tasty things for us at a really neat restaurant, Hot Tuna, before we got there. Once we sat down we were immediately brought two large orange juices, fruit salad, and a chocolate-banana pancake. This followed with croissants, cheese, butter, jelly, and a baguette. Wow, we had not had breakfast like this in a while…



After eating, we went back to the hotel to rest up for a little while before the next events of the day. When we got into the room, I noticed a little purple box on the bed. More gifts! Henk had found us a sweet-looking magnetic keychain that split apart and snapped together again. Perfect for our future apartment keys! A short while later we were out again after I read my next card, which said something about ‘enjoying bubbles’ that I didn’t understand. We arrived at the Rose Spa and sent to get changed, before being shown the steam room/sauna area. First we sweated it out in the steam room before heading to the sauna. I wasn’t sure how much water to pour on the coals in the sauna… but it might have been a little too much because very quickly we were roasting! Next we were treated to a traditional Vietnamese couples’ massage and then a romantic, candle-lit hot-tub bath complete with sparkling wine. So that’s what bubbles meant!



After our time at the spa, Henk gave me another card inviting me to a set-menu lunch. We walked next door from the spa and shared a Vietnamese sampler platter of traditional Hue delicacies, including their famous shrimp pancake. I really enjoyed the chicken cakes with ketchup dipping sauce. Oh! Because it was my birthday, we even got a free extra soup on the set menu!



Dinner that evening was my choice, the final card of the day explained to me in a creative rhyming poem. Henk had wanted to cover all the bases, so he ended up making reservations at two separate restaurants he found in town. No matter if I was craving Indian or Italian (my two favorite cuisines) he had it planned! He even went so far as to reserve a special separate table in each place so we’d have our privacy.

I opted for Italian so after a little more time relaxing we headed for a dinner of assorted bruschetta, home-made spaghetti with tomato sauce, and home-made ice-cream – vanilla and stracciatella (which is like chocolate-chip ice-cream). Stomachs full we ended our evening back in the hotel, planning to sleep-in the next morning.