Madrid | Barcelona | Carcassonne | Montpellier | Lyon | Florence | Cinque Terre | Siena | Rome | Salzburg | Munich | Vienna | Prague | Liepzig | Amsterdam | Dusseldorf | London | Winterthur | Paris
Days out: 42
Our very last stop was with out a doubt one of the most important. Since I was a little bitty girl, I dreamt of the day I would touch Paris soil. Honestly, it was just a dream I had, I never remember actually thinking that one day I might actually go! This is one of the biggest reasons I am so thankful for Wes Wages. He is the reason my dreams become reality. He is it.
This is a long blog. Hold on tight. It is a good one.
We start out at the Sacre Coeur. Walking through this neighborhood, eating crepes. It was gorgeous.
From there we went to the Arc de Triomphe. We took a metro to get there, and was wild, you are walking up the stairs out of the metro, and there it is… right in front of you. Big.
From there we went to our biggest destination- literally. This is something that I have imagined. When I was 8 or 9 my Papa took a photo off the internet of the Eiffel tower and photoshopped (well, probably used Paint) my photo in. It hung on my door for about 5 or 6 years. Now I was here, it was so close. I teared up as I was getting close. I feel so honored that I actually got to go. I know it is strange, so many people travel there every year… but actually not many people really do in retrospect. I have. I did. And I loved it.
As we were walking through the park area, Wes stated that he thought this was the city of love… but he didn’t understand why. He said, I don’t feel any more in love with you than I have in any other city. I don’t understand why it is called that. We stopped and looked around, we noticed couples everywhere, young couples, middle age… it seemed they were covering the place. Then suddenly we turned around and we saw them. Sitting on a bench together- quite. I watched them for a moment and wondered how many afternoons have they spent sitting on this bench. How many moments have they spent people watching and sitting in each other’s comfort. This is it. This is the city of Love.
This is the best hamburger I have ever had. A great start to a romantic date… haha… I am so thankful we run late to things so we are sometimes forced to grab the “quick” dinner… I genuinely loved this hamburger.
This is another moment I have dreamt of and is on my list of things to do before I die. Seeing a ballet in Paris. I will remember this night for the rest of my life.
I will never feel this way again.
The writer of Ronald Petit.
Our last full day in Paris, we went to Versailles, this is without a doubt the best way to spend our last day in Europe. It envelopes everything the entire continent entails- history, royalty, beauty. This place was unbelievable. The palace holds more gold than I can imagine… but it wasn’t our favorite part… hahaha… but if you follow my blog much, you won’t be surprised to what our favorite part was.
They were hosting a Japanese artist in the palace, I will be honest, it was strange. The art was unique, but seeing pepsi bottles made of sequins isn’t what you expect to see in Versailles.
This was my absolute favorite! Marie Antoinette’s estate, we walked about an hour and a half to get here… the last thirty minutes was through a tree lined gravel road with a horse pasture on one side, kids playing soccer on the other, older women chatting on a bench and dad’s following close behind their daughters on their bicycles. It was gorgeous.
Notre Dame.
Our last meal in Paris, one of my favorite meals we had. Hotel Du Nord you are lovely.
Goat Cheese, oh, how I love you.
Dark chocolate cake with a candied basil leaf, cranberries and carmel sauce. These flavors go together like the animals on the ark… I have never experienced dessert like this.
Our very last morning before our plane took off into the clouds, we woke up early to get our last peak of the tower. We soaked her in, and said goodbye.
These are our last couple of photos in Paris, I feel the sum up the entire trip. We love each other. Oh, how we love each other. The shot of me was the very last shot of the trip. It states exactly how I felt for the last 6 weeks of my life. I will hopefully never be the same.
This is our last “official” Europe blog, we still have a video to post soon and am open to answering any travel questions people may have. I encourage you to find what you want to do, or where you want to go- stop making excuses and do it! Find a way. Make it happen. It will be worth it more than you will ever know.
As we traveled we met so many other travelers, who would ask us “Do you ever go places alone and explore separately?” Most people were actually surprised when we replied quickly, never. Why would we? There is nothing I want to experience that Wes Wages doesn’t experience with me. And vice versa. On this trip it was completely confirmed that I married my best friend. After 6 weeks of spending literally ever moment together, I still can’t wait to sit next to him and explore some more. We are ready to start again. 6 more weeks, unlimited destinations. I wanna see the world with this man. I wanna live my life with him, loving him, devoting myself to him. I wanna meet new people with him and talk about the same things over and over, until one day we find ourselves 70 years old sitting on a bench, quite with each other in a way you can with someone you are comfortable with, in a way most never experience. I am so so blessed to have this experience.
Wes wrote on my facebook wall when we got back, I cried reading it because it summed up my every emotion.
“Summer camp is now over. The bunk beds, made up languages, late nights, daily ice cream, adventures, and secrets I’ll always remember. It would make my life to continue this summer fling. ;)”
I hope you have found the love that I have experienced. Whether it is a best friend love, or a lover love. I hope you find yourself loving someone else with unconditional peace and happiness. I have experienced something rare and beautiful.. and I will spend the rest of my life trying to experience it again and again.
Be happy and love each other.
T
