Love At First Sight Paris, France

One of my greatest pleasures in life is traveling and what better way to spend our honeymoon in the City of LOVE and light, Paris.

Oh! Paris, the City that will take a lifetime to see.  My husband and I spent four days but I felt like I barely scratched it's surface.  I am head over heels in love with the France Capital.  You know that smiling face emoji with a heart-shaped eyes?  That's me when in Paris.

People think of Paris as romantic and I think I understand that feeling.  The moment you are actually walking in the cobbled streets, dining in the cafés and restaurants, passing time in the park while sipping some wine, seeing couple hand in hand and kissing each other in front of the Eiffel.  It felt so magical.  Paris indeed has that unique ingredient for an unforgettable moments that would fit for any couple's definition of romance.

It is not only the French personality that makes the tourist swoon over Paris, it is the language itself, which was voted as the world's sexiest (based on a poll).  Hearing how they talk is like music to my ears.  It brings out a husky voice for men and a breathy voice in women, something everyone finds attractive.  Je t'aime Paris.

You have to make some efforts to have a precious pictures using one of the world's most-visited paid monument as a romantic backdrop.  The Eiffel Tower was actually built in 1889 for the World's Fair which was held in Paris, France and was not intended to be permanent.  It was supposed to be demolished in 1909 but was saved because it was repurposed as a giant radio antenna.  The tower was initially criticized by some of France's leading artists for it's design.  Now, the Eiffel has become a global cultural icon of France and one of the most recognizable structures in the world.

We were able to climb up the stairs with more than 700 steps, it was tiring but all worth it.  We did not even thought of waiting for hours for the elevator queue.  It was actually a test on how much we can both endure, after all those running we did before our wedding.  Well, it was all worth it.  Our stamina has changed a lot.  That moment of being on top of the Eiffel and seeing the City from up there, it was indescribable.

View from the top of the Eiffel

"US" from the top of the Eiffel

View from the top of the Eiffel

View from the top of the Eiffel

The Louvre is the world's largest museum and houses one of the most impressive art collections in history.  It is the second most visited museum in 2016.  The Louvre's collections includes ancient Greek and Roman sculptures, Egyptian antiques, paintings by the Old Masters and crown jewels from French nobles.  It has more than 38,000 displays which spans from prehistory to the 21st century.

It is impossible to see the entire Louvre just by one visit because of its size and scale of its collection.  Below are just one of the few collections from the museum.

The Louvre's famous art work is Leonardo da Vinci's "Mona Lisa" who enchants a lot of visitors with her enigmatic smile.  The small iconic painting was stolen in 1911 and was recovered in 1913.  Today, the 21inches by 30 inches painting is covered with bullet proof glass and flanked by security guards.  I was staring at the Mona Lisa for too long as I was wondering how this work of art become so famous.

The crowd who wants to view The Mona Lisa

The Winged of Victory of Samothrace also called the Nike of Samothrace is a marble Hellenistic sculpture of Nike (the Greek goddess of victory) -  and a base in the shape of the prow of a ship, standing on a low pedestal.

The Louvre Pyramid (Pyramide de Louvre) is a large metal and glass pyramid designed by Chinese-American architect I.M Pei surrounded by other three smaller pyramids in the main courtyard of the Louvre palace.  The main large pyramid serves as the entrance to the Louvre museum.  The pyramid was criticized during the construction because of the modernist style of the edifice being inconsistent with the classic French Renaissance style of the Louvre.  Another issue was that the pyramid being a symbol of death in the ancient Egypt but nowadays the pyramid is loved by tourists and Parisians alike.  It has become a tourist attraction in its own right.

Palais Garnier is home to the National Opera of Paris and is the most expensive of its era.  The building is surrounded by banks, that is because rich people who attended would visit their vaults and take their most fancy and expensive jewels before attending the opera. 

Palais Garnier

The Avenue des Champs-Élysées is known for its theaters, cafés and luxury shops.  It is one of the most famous streets in the world.  It is 1.9 kilometers long and 70 meters wide running between the Place de la Concorde and the Place Charles de Gaulle, where the Arc de Triomphe is located.

Strolling in the most famous street in the world.

Louis Vuitton store at the Champs-Élysées is the flagship store of the company.  The beautiful Art Deco building still topped by its original dome.  It is the largest Louis Vuitton store in the world.  The LV is like a symbol of Paris and a trip to the City of Light would not be complete without a glimpse of the store.  There was a long queue outside the door as the excited customers were waiting for their turn to be allowed inside.  The shop was packed with tourists curiously checking from one bag to another with eyes wide open and mouths agape.  The employees so chicly dressed would offer you champagne, evian water or juices as much as you like.  It was a VIP treatment.

Ladurée is an upscale bakery with Parisian origins.  It was created in 1862 and one of the world’s best-known premier sellers of the double-decker macaron.  This is one of the most tastiest and fanciest bakery I had been to.  Although, we have this in Dubai but it is still different to taste it from where it really came from.

Ladurée’s famous Macarons

Some of Ladurée’s pastries

Arc de Triomphe de I’Étoile (Triumphal Arch of the Star) is commissioned by Napoleon who wanted to commemorate his victory at Austerlitz, as well as to show off to his new young bride Archduchess Marie-Louise of Austria.  Unfortunately, the edifice was still only a few meters tall at the time of his marriage and was hidden with a painted backdrop for the procession.  Sadly, Napoleon never got a chance to see the finished product.  It was completed 15years after his death. 

It was so difficult to have the best picture of the Arc de Triomphe as it is located in the middle of the road wherein all cars are passing by so we had to wait for the red light so we can pose for a good snaps.

Pont Alexandre III (by Michael Saint James) is a deck arch bridge that spans the Seine in Paris.  The bridge is widely regarded as the most elegant, ornate and extravagant bridge in the city: one of the most beautiful river crossings in the world.

The oldest standing bridge across the River Seine is The Pont Neuf.

The Eiffel Tower from the Pont Neuf bridge.

One of the most famous districts in Paris is also one of the most recognizable: Montmartre and Sacré-Coeur Basilica can be seen above the Paris rooftops.  The 130 meters high hill is famous from its Bohemian past.  This village within the city was once a home to famous artists like Pablo Picasso, Vincent van Gogh and so many more.  This was once a tranquil village packed with vines and windmills.

Mur des "Je t'aime" or the I Love You wall is also a popular place to declare one's love.  It stands with over 311 written declarations of "I Love You" in 250 different languages.  We had managed to find our Tagalog version of " Iniibig Kita" in a 40 square meter wall near the exit of the Abbesses metro station.  The piece of artwork was created by Frédéric Baron and Claire Kito , who originally collected the phrases in their notebooks by knocking on embassy doors and asking some people until they had collected more than 300 language all expressing the powerful sentiment of love.

Who haven't tried expressing their love through carving into his high school chair the name of his first love?  Or who haven't tried engraving their lover's initial on their heart shaped ring?  Or simply writing their crushes name on their notebooks?  Well, I guess this is the same as the creator's passion to create such a wall of love.  Paris has become more sweeter as we are about to finish every step of our itinerary.

Sacré-Coeur means Sacred Heart in English and is a reference to the heart of Jesus.  It is one of the city’s great landmarks, towering above Paris from high on the Butte Montmartre.  The Church was created after Franco-Prussian War as a symbol of hope.  Welcoming millions of pilgrims and tourists each year.  

Pont des Arts bridge is a pedestrian bridge in Paris that crosses the River Seine.  I was so sad to see the bridge with less padlocks as Paris had removed a 45tons of them.  I was imagining a romantic walk down the bridge, write our names on the padlock, locked them and throw the keys to the river.  Well, we still did it though it was less romantic as I had imagined  because  the bridge looks so bare.

Tuileries Garden lies between the wings of the Louvre that is very popular public park and garden in the City of Paris.  It covers about twenty-five hectares of land and the garden is perfectly arranged to add important elements to the park.  My husband and I were able to relax in front of the pond while watching the people around.  It was a marvelous afternoon having a small talk and enjoying our view.

We had just stumbled across the Roue de Paris, it is a 200 feet tall transportable ferris wheel and is a wonderful site from the Jardin des Tuileries.  It was actually intended to be a temporary structure but like the London eye, they both became a permanent and captivating fixtures in their respective Cities.

Of course, there is also the cruise over the river Seine.  We had booked for an hour Bateaux cruise before sunset time so we can discover full splendor of the river banks.  It was so romantic whispering words of love with the wind playing in your hair.  It was really cold that day but there is no trip to Paris without an hour's ride of the Seine.

The magic of Paris at night!  Every night, every hour, the Eiffel tower is covered in golden lights and sparkles for five whole minutes while it beams and lights up the City.  That special moment after the sun sets and lights of Paris cast their magic on everyone.  Oh!  Not even in my dreams I could imagine that sight.  It may look so ordinary to some, but for me it is a dazzling beauty by itself.

We kissed at sunset in front of the Eiffel on our 2^nd day honeymoon trip in Paris. 

Above all, in an uncertain world, Paris will forever be carved in my memory.  It was indeed a love at first sight.

As what Audrey Hepburn once said, "Paris is always a good idea."

Love,

M xo

ALL GLORY TO GOD.