Paris, Je t'aime!

My love affair with Paris began since I was in high school when I took French in class 8th. May seem a long time back for some of you but to me it seems like yesterday. On the autograph books in school I used to answer the question what's your dream as: kissing my man in front of the Eiffel Tower. Years passed from school to high school and then college and work and life went by but I held on to my dream.

 When I moved out of India to UK I had the option to travel to Paris as my first destination but I chose not. You know why? Because I wanted it to be special, so I thought I'd ride to Paris. I took riding classes here in UK in order to be able to do so but then the dream would be incomplete without finding my dream man. Oh yes I did meet a lot of men some of whom were interested in me and some whom I was interested in but none worthy of living my dream with me and finally I came across my fiancé and then I knew it was time. Time to make this trip to Paris. It was going to be our anniversary soon and my fiancé suggested Paris for our anniversary after all that was a special day for us and I am so grateful to have a man who made my dream his. Love definitely finds a way. My fiancé is an adventurous guy too so instead of riding he offered to drive me to Paris and I agreed (also because I could carry more luggage in the car lol) and so the drive to Paris began.

We took the ferry from Dover to Calais to cross the English channel and finally reached our destination after an adventurous drive (driving on a different side of the road is pretty adventurous trust me 😉)

On day one, we just chose to relax after the long drive, so we had a good hearty french meal in a small village brassiere we tried the snails and absolutely loved them and Priston loved the creme brulee so much that he exclaimed this is so so good!

Day 2 began early for us after devouring croissants for breakfast, we set out to explore Paris. Notre Dame was first and even after the damage the recent fire has done to this structure you cant help but feel the positive energy of the place. We then had a very relaxing river cruise on the river Seine which was very informative and interesting. It was like all the information from my French textbooks in class was live in front of me. We then had our lunch on one of the little islands overlooking the love lock bridge. The love lock bridge is the famous bridge where lovers used to attach locks on with their initials on it. It is also said that if you lock lips on the love lock bridge your love will remain forever no wonder you see couples kissing all over on this bridge. It is a very romantic sight indeed. We saved our anniversary evening to spend by the Eiffel tower and Oh boy I must say the iron lady left me mesmerised. To add to it my fiancé was kind enough to book the tickets for us to go to the summit of the Eiffel Tower which was an incredible experience. The best gift I've ever received. As I rested and touched the iron structure I couldn't believe my dream had finally come true and yes I did kiss my man in front of the Eiffel Tower with the Eiffel Tower Sparkling behind us as if to say to me 'I was waiting for this day too'. It is a day that will be etched in my heart forever. 

Day 3 was spent exploring Basilica du Sacre Coeur (Basilica of the sacred heart) which involves climbing 300 steps to get to the top but worth it for the view you of the city you get from the top. We kept the night for the much talked about Moulin Rouge experience which I must say left us speechless with artists performing various different acts that had so many jaw dropping moments. It is a shame that they don't let you take pictures in there but with nude girls dancing and performing all around you know its important to respect their privacy. The highlight of Moulin Rouge was this slender nude girl swimming in a tank with pythons as if she was a part of her and the pythons seemed to enjoy that as much as the audience. Besides it had a lot of acrobatics and gymnastic acts that made everyone exclaim wow!! It is something that I would recommend to every person who visits Paris its a definite must have experience. 

Day 4 was a Friday so we kept that day to explore the famous food market in Paris Les Enfants du Marche where we explored different kinds of cuisine including Moroccan food that we thoroughly enjoyed. The best experience was trying raw oysters which was the first time for me and my fiancé and this aphrodisiac food is something we'd surely try again. We had loads of French desserts as well after all France has the best desserts in the world. The chocolate éclair, glace and crepes left me asking for more (gosh as I write about it I miss them so much) We also visited Palais Royal and visited jardin du palais royal which was such a serene place. We then spent the rest of the evening visiting the Louvre Museum which is known for housing the famous painting Mona Lisa. The long queues to see the Mona Lisa are unimaginable but yes worth the experience. We ended our day after we visited the Arc de Troimphe which is one of the most famous monuments in Paris. 

Day 5 was our last day in Paris and we were leaving in the evening so we had limited time on our hands and visited Jardin de Tuileries, visited one of the best cafe's in Paris Café Angelina and visited Laudree to pick up the best Macrons in Paris back to UK with us and before we left Priston had one last thing left on his list to be ticked (this guy does research well) to visit the statue of Liberty. Yes you read that right. USA has gifted a smaller statue of Liberty replica to Paris as a sign of their friendship to France. So yes we did go to see it and yes before we left Paris I had to say goodbye to the Eiffel Tower so we did go once more to say Bye to the Eiffel Tower thus concluding our trip to Paris. 

As we drove back to Calais to get on the ferry there was a strange sadness I felt leaving Paris. I've never felt this before leaving all the other 7 countries I've been too. This just goes on to show that Paris was my 8th country but definitely the most special ones to me so far. The reason I am sharing this blog on Paris is to let each of you to believe, believe that dreams come true. Dreams do come true for those who truly believe and don't give up. Yes not always at the time and the way you want it but the universe is always striving to make everything even more special for you. I held on to my dream for 17 years!! How long are you willing to hold on to yours?