Amoureux de Paris

‘Paris je t’aime’. They say Paris is the capital of love, the capital of romance. I’m sure Gustave Eiffel felt the same, why else would he have designed the marvel that is Eiffel Tower. I have been under the tower’s spell from dawn to dusk and still haven’t got enough of it yet. Its mesmerizing just the way it stands there patiently still and beautiful, a gargantuan token of love.

My day started with clouds hovering over me. It made no sense for us to go on top of the Eiffel tower, which was our initial plan and hence we decided to take a boat tour on the river Seine checking out the major attractions of the city,  and the massive Eiffel from far off of course. The open roof boat tour was pretty dope. We covered most of the heritage buildings and bridges (one of them had a mini Statue of Liberty, it was a gift from the Frenchmen to beautify New York City) which also included Pont des Arts (the Bridge of Love locks). Well a weight of 45 tons of locks was taken down recently, the reason being the risk of it coming down crashing the boats passing beneath. The love in this city is strong indeed.

We saw the Notre Dame, Conciergerie and Place de la concorde to name a few. The boat tour was just building up the climax as we came closer and closer to the monument. The first sight of the massive structure wasn’t quite captivating. To be honest, the clouds had ruined my view completely. We just hoped by the end of our lunch the skies would clear the way for us! It is obvious, if I am writing this blog, there is a reason haha! Yes, it was our turn to visit the tower now! It’s amazing how this bizarre structure can attract so many visitors. People from all over the world impatiently queued up to climb it. They smile, they laugh, they capture, they simply hang around, feeling happy by just being beside it. And I obviously followed suit, waiting to get on top and see the dazzling city staring back at me!

The three floors have their own peculiarities! No 1 has the see through floor and people on the ground moving around like ants. No 2 has the open fence and little more amount of people (can’t avoid that right?) and No 3 is just enough for us to stand there awestruck look at Paris hypnotized. Also Paris is the most symmetrical city in my opinion. I could have stayed there all evening long taking all of it in, memorizing every nook and cranny, but oh well it was getting cold and it was my time to leave.

We had taken the elevators while going up and ended up standing in long queues. I decided to take the stairs on my way back. Thinking it will take longer, I was downstairs way before my parents were. It was fun! I got to see the first level which you don’t if you take the elevator. During the twilight hours, the sky was at its peak of being so beautiful. We enjoyed the view for a bit and then left for a night tour of the city. Everything just gets so much prettier when the lights are turned on; and so does Paris. From bridges to arches, it all just transformed into jaw dropping illuminated structures. We saw l’Arc de Triomphe de l’Étoile (triumphal arch of the star) and Avenue des Champs-Élysées known for its luxury stores (the 5th avenue of Paris haha!). How beautifully the history was shimmering as we passed through the streets and walked towards the river. This time Eiffel Tower looked much different, like the bride of the wedding, best out of all! But as the clock passed 11:00PM, the tower started twinkling and this moment came as a surprise to me. It was magical! Those were the best 5 minutes of my life! I was speechless then, and now and can’t find words to describe the time. It’s every one hour that it twinkles for 5 minutes till it’s midnight. This mesmerizing moment is stuck in my mind since then and I hope to go back to that soon again!

If you’ve ever come across something so beautiful that it left a stamp on your mind from then and now, leave a comment and let me know!

Keep Smiling!

All photos taken by me!