"What an immense impression Paris made upon me. It is the most extraordinary place in the world!" - Charles Dickens
It's Valentine's Day. I'm fortunate enough to have my blog post on such a lovely date. What better subject to write about than the City of Lights... the city where love blooms eternal.. Paris.
Paris has been burned in my brain since the first time I laid eyes on the Eiffel Tower...on television. Paris influenced me to take 4 years of French in high school instead of Spanish. French cuisine inspired me to try duck a l'orange and escargots (for the record, both REALLY good!). It wasn't until I set foot IN Paris, that my love truly set in.
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| The village steeple : taken by Lizzie |
The trip I took to Paris was a last minute addition (just 2 1/2 short days) to my week long vacation in London . My friend and I took the Eurostar Train out from London and it took a short 2 hours and 15 minutes from station to station! I was enchanted by the French countryside. There was a church's tall steeple marked the center of the village. I was grateful for the villages further from the train tracks so they didn't speed by.
The moment I stepped off the train, my world changed. My entire life gathered itself up into a solitary moment of sole on pavement. My heart fluttered like a girl with a crush. My love affair had begun. I spent at least 10 minutes repeating the address of the hotel "trente cinq, rue des Ecoles" so I didn't look like a dunce when we finally got in a cab.
The Hotel Saint-Jacques was simply delightful. When we got into our room, there was a queen bed and a twin bed. A well-traveled friend recently told me the twin bed was meant for families traveling with small children. This was interesting, as I am used to a hotel room with two beds having 2 of the same size mattress! My friend, Lizzie, graciously took the smaller bed.
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| Big Bed / Little Bed... let me sleep! |
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| Cutest keys ever! |
One of the magical things about Paris is the charm. Most everything I encountered there was a delight and so...Parisian. I'm not embarrassed to say that I remained wide-eyed and giddy through my entire trip. I'm not ashamed to say that I enjoyed being a tourist and basking in the magic.
It was...IS so much like being in love. The thought of it now makes my heart swell and beat a little faster. There are days, even a few years after visiting, that I wake up and feel like my experience there wasn't real. It's like a dream....Paris is. I feel like my life was given new spirit because I was there.
The next visit I have will be in 3 short years. I look forward to renewing my spirit and sharing the magic with my daughter. Have you visited a place that was magical? Please share in the comments!
Until next time, enjoy my pictures and have amazing, lovely adventures!
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Notre Dame from the front (sorry, I
didn't see Quasimodo! ) |
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| Le Tour Eiffel |
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| Of course, there's me... standing scared on the Eiffel Tower |
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The back of Notre Dame is just as impressive...
AND has a park! |
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