LOVE IN THE CITY OF LIGHTS
Imagine waking up at your own time and meandering down narrow, cobblestoned pathways, following your nose to find a hot, fresh croissant. The butter melts as you spread it on the pastry. This was our reality in Paris. At lunch time, we would buy a fresh loaf of bread from the patisserie, and a block of cheese from the fromagerie … just like that, something as simple as a cheese sandwich becomes one of the tastiest lunches you have ever had. And then there’s dessert: crème brûlée,
macarons and something that looked like a muffin but tasted like saucy chocolate heaven. We could not get enough.
When we weren’t eating, we were walking. Some things I needed to see: NotreDame and, of course, the Louvre.
We arrived at the Louvre and were faced with queues winding around the building, twisting and turning around each corner until we were so far from the entrance that we couldn’t see it. We waited.
By the time we reached the entrance and handed over our cash, we were motioned to enter for free. Turns out, entry is free on the first Sunday of every month. Score!
The Louvre is incredibly large, with passages heading in every direction. It was a long visit, there is no other way to do it, because every piece is worth looking at. The walls were covered in works bigger than I am — and don’t forget to look up and marvel at the paintings spread across the ceilings.
The Mona Lisa was the only piece of art that had a group of people hovering in front of it. It was also the only piece of art behind bulletproof glass and a railing to keep people away — all protecting that mysterious smile.
Bookworms will find themselves in heaven when they enter the famous store, Shakespeare and Company.
It’s full of English books stacked everywhere, no obvious order in sight and was full of people reading and writing.
Paris is known as the City of Lights. Supposedly, that’s because of its association with the Age of Enlightenment and its being one of the first cities to implement streetlights. To me, it meant something else.
Walking slowly along the Seine, chatting to vendors and buying souvenirs, we made it to the Eiffel Tower. Up and up it went. I could not help but admire the engineering.
We went up and enjoyed the view, which was beautiful, but the real show happened when we got back down.
My husband wanted to stay until after dark and I had no idea why, but I ate my banana and caramel crepe and didn’t argue.
As soon as darkness fell, the tower lit up and I thought it was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen. I was wrong. At every hour, something unexpected happened: the tower did a little dance, with spots of white lights flickering across it, looking like stars in a night sky. That’s why I think of Paris as the City of Lights.
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