Then, the next day we woke up bright and early and got our start to exploring the city. It was a foggy and cold day, but we made the best of it. We headed directly to the Arc de Triomphe, which was giant and majestic, standing right in the middle of a very busy intersection. From there we went directly down one of the main streets, and did a little browsing in the shops.
It was a long walk to the Louvre, so we got to see plenty of beautiful landmarks along the way...especially the Eiffel Tower in the distance! We walked through the gardens to get to the Louvre, and spent a little time outside of it exploring....it's really massive. We went inside with one main goal: to see the Mona Lisa. I suppose we didn't expect it to be so giant inside, because we got lost numerous times finding our way to see other pieces of art that we wanted to see. They basically have the whole place packed with signs to get to the Mona Lisa, but as for the other ones, it's just a matter of good luck with finding them. There seems to be hundreds of different rooms and ways to go, accompanied by tourists running around like ants, just as clueless as we were.
After we accomplished seeing everything that we were interested in, we hurried out of there and headed directly to see the Notre Dame. Yes, I was absolutely stoked to see it in real life after growing up on The Hunchback of Notre Dame. The cartoon really doesn't do any justice! We sat for a while in front of it and just took time to admire it's beauty before heading on with our adventuring. From there, we walked around the other side of it to look at it all around, and then headed across the other side of the bridge.
The bridge we went over was Pont de l'Archevêché, which is the bridge with all of the love locks covering it entirely...it's amazing! Sadly, I forgot our love lock that I wanted to put on...but I guess that gives us an excuse to go back :)
We continued on the explore throughout that part of the city, which ended up being my favorite area in Paris. I just love the architecture, the bridges across with the view of the city and of Notre Dame, and the overall energy that it all gave off. It was just wonderful. We stopped in a caffè called Paul to get some hot chocolate to and relax for a bit, which we find ourselves doing often in our travels. Amazing how good a nice hot chocolate, a good view, and reflecting does to you. By then, it was time to start heading back in the direction to Polly's for dinner. We ate with her that night, and then went out to an awesome bar with her and her friends, who were all so kind and welcoming. There were good drinks, good conversation, and good people...just the perfect way to end the day. On the metro ride home, the clock turned midnight so we welcomed in our anniversary with a kiss...and Polly of course :)
On the morning of our Anniversary, we woke up and went directly to have breakfast and then to the Eiffel Tower. We got off at the stop that took us to a terrace that overlooks the tower from a bit farther away and higher up, which was the most beautiful first up close glimpse. It was a really foggy day, and we were hoping that it would burn off in a couple of hours for when we wanted to go to the top.
We killed time by looking for a good place to eat around there for our anniversary dinner, which ended up working out perfectly because we found a place right in front of that area with a three course dinner for 15 euro! For those of you who don't know, that's INCREDIBLE for Paris. Nobody believed us that we found a place so cheap to eat for dinner, also right in front of the Eiffel! From there we took a long walk around the entire area, got lucky and found ten euro on the ground (bought us our lunch), and went completely around the tower at every angle. As we got closer to it, we realized how majestic and amazing it really was. It's just incredible being there in person...so much more massive than we thought! We loved every minute of it. We took so many pictures, from every angle possible. I just couldn't get enough of it.
We then went for lunch and for another walk, and decided to come back to go to the top of the tower. The weather hadn't gotten much better, but we figured that it was the best that we would get that day. So, we went directly to buy our tickets and went on our voyage to the top! The beginning of it was awesome- we took the first elevator which went up the leg. So we went up at the angle of the leg, which led us to the first floor. Our first glimpse of Paris from above was amazing, but we really just couldn't wait to get to the very top. We spent about 20 minutes admiring the view and taking in the fact that we were in the Eiffel Tower.
Finally, we waited in line and took the final elevator which took us all the way to the very top. The elevator was clear looking out, so it almost nauseated me seeing how far up we really were going...with Paris surrounding us on every angle! Looking down was frightening..but awesome. We got out at the top and immediately had our breath taken away. The world below looked so small to us, with so many people walking around, tourists and residents...all with their own lives and emotions and stories. As you can tell, it just really made us feel so tiny. The view of the city was all around us, and despite the crappy weather, it was just incredible. I really just had to stand there and take in where I was, what a special day it was, and the fact that I was sharing this all with the love of my life...my very best friend. Those really are the moments that stay with you forever. Those moments that truly make you feel infinite, caught within the sweetest of dreams with no perception of time or worries. You feel the warmth of your loved one next to you, and nothing in the world can take away the ecstasy of that very moment. That's exactly how I felt as I looked out over Paris, on top of the divine and majestic Eiffel Tower.
After we made our way down, we got lost for a while but finally found our next destination: Montmartre. It was such a beautiful and tranquil little district of Paris that was separated from the metropolitan part. The buildings weren't as tall, there wasn't crazy traffic, and it just overall gave off a much different and calmer feeling than the city did. We climbed up to the Sacré Coeur, the white and elegant church at the top of the hill. This offered some more beautiful views of the city, so we sat for a while to rest our feet and enjoy.
From there, we walked down the street to find Le mur des je t'aime, or the "I love you wall." It's a mural in the middle of Montmartre with "I love you" written in every language. It was incredible cliché for our anniversary, but that's just how we roll.
After roaming around for a while and grabbing a bite to eat, we rushed back to Polly's house to prepare ourselves for our anniversary dinner. I wouldn't let Massi see me until I was done, since I had already waited over two months to put my dress on....he could wait as well! After we got all prettied up, I came down the stairs and was greeted by their Polly's lovely girly reaction, and Massi got that exact look in his eye that I was hoping for :) Polly insisted on taking pictures of us before we headed out, so we did a few poses and then set out to enjoy our romantic evening!
The restaurant was everything that we were looking for. We got choice between two different appetizers, two different entrees, and two different desserts. Massi and I got the opposite first two courses, so that we could try all the plates. He got a duck pâté, and I got a boiled egg with some sort of mayo sauce on top of it. For dinner, he got a steak plate with a wonderful sauce on top, accompanied with fries and roasted tomatoes. I got chicken with a cream sauce along with the fries and tomatoes. It was very typical French, and all delicious. Then, we got generous servings of ice cream and free water...all for 15 euro! We were just stoked.
After dinner, we didn't want to miss the closing times for the metro to get back to Polly's, so we ran over to the terrace to snap a couple pictures and enjoy the tower lit up at night. It was amazing. We came out with just about the best picture that we have ever taken, which I believe is the perfect way to sum up our trip. It was literally everything that I had ever dreamed of....just an indescribable feeling. It really does make all that we have fought for throughout the distance seem like nothing. If these are the moments that we get rewarded with, it aint got nothin' on us ;)
We rode the metro home, and actually did make it before it closed! But not without a few entertaining pictures to accompany the ride home... :)
We got up the next morning ready to enjoy our last half day in Paris before heading home. The first thing we did in the morning after getting breakfast was going to the Cimitero del Père-Lachaise- also known to be the most visited cemetery in the world! And it certainly lived up to it's name...it was absolutely huge. Almost like it's own little city within the city! There are numerous famous people that are buried there, but the ones that I mostly cared about are Chopin and Oscar Wilde. We visited both of their graves, after getting lost numerous times and walking way more than expected. Well, on the way to them all we were on a quest to find the oldest grave. Out of the ones that were readable, I believe the oldest was from 1806. Insane!
The grave of Chopin was small and well kept up..accompanied by flowers and little gifts from people that visit. It was nice to see that people still come and pay respects to him.
On the other hand, the grave of Oscar Wilde really disappointed me. It was surrounded by a clear covering, due to the fact that people were ruining his grave by drawing on them and breaking off pieces of the sculpture. I just couldn't believe it...it truly made me sad! I don't know what the point is of disrespecting anybody's grave, let alone such an inspirational writer who has influenced many of us. Anyway, after leaving his grave we found our way out after about 30 minutes, and headed out to meet up with Polly for the last couple of hours before we headed to the airport.
We met Polly at the Notre Dame, and she took us to Shakespeare and Company, an extremely famous and unique book store that I had been wanting to visit so badly! It was so cool inside...just gives you the feeling of a very old library, with books filling every nook and cranny. The wall decorations had quotes and paintings on famous authors, and upstairs there were reading rooms and plenty of places to sit. They also had parts where you could write notes and stick them up on the wall, near the typewriters or the little nooks where you can go sit and read. I was just in heaven. Unfortunately, I didn't have the money to buy a book...but I did get a postcard :)
After that, we headed to eat some lunch. We were so happy to get to spend a little time out with Polly, for we hadn't gotten to see her all that much and I miss her dearly! It was great. We walked around a little bit more and did some shopping; it was just the perfect way to end our trip. From there, we went back to Polly's to gather our stuff and stopped by the market to grab some snacks, and were on our way. I was sad to leave, but so happy to have had such an amazing time with Massi, and to have shared the anniversary of our dreams.
Paris, je t'aime. Au reviour!
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