Our second day in Paris is the day to explore. The underground metro system is the fastest way to travel. We spend a majority of our trip navigating the city, crossing paths with hundreds of people daily. We set out to see the sites, the first thing on the list is the Eiffelturm, the Eiffel Tower. I remember a few years back when I had my own apartment, my bathroom decor was Paris. Eiffel Tower shower curtain, high heel photos, little French trinkets lined my counter tops. I am not quite sure why I chose this theme. I honestly never saw myself actually being in Paris one day, but when I saw that Eiffelturm something inside of me got jittery and excited. Beni said my eyes sparkled when I saw it, I felt the attraction and awe immediately upon laying my eyes on this historical beauty. This is it, this is Paris! I am here and with Beni, oh am I lucky and ever so happy. It really was quite a rush. Hundreds of people gathered around this giant romantic sight taking photographs. Huge gushing water spouts create an enormous pool of water where one can sit by to enjoy the view. Every few feet someone is trying to sell souvenirs , tiny replicas of this iconic beast, but nothing can mimic it's towering mass.
We take a few pictures together, one of my favorite being of our tattoos with the tower between. We both got our tattoos done in Maui, his is a Spartan saying translated to "Come and take" after his crippling back problems and not being able to walk for six months. My tattoo represents the healing I went through in Maui and is translated to "The ocean is full of waves." We both have struggled and survived and know that we don't have to do it alone anymore as we have each other to help carry the weight.
It's time to see some other sites and we find an open air bus tour that allows us to sit on top while it drives around the big city. This is quite convenient for Beni and I as we are both what we consider terrible tourists. We don't enjoy walking too far or waiting in outrageous lines, seeing the view from the comfort of a chair seemed quite inviting. The tour comes with headphones if you would like to hear the history of the sites, but Beni and I enjoy talking so we opt out. Being in the City of Love is quite enough for us. Seeing everything and experiencing each other fulfills our trip. I got some great photos and really enjoyed all of the delicate details carved into each building and the patience it took to create such master pieces. This day is all about the bus tour, after it's finished we go back to our comfortable American restaurant and have lunch. We are still celebrating my birthday of course so again in the evening, we drink more champagne and celebrate life.
We plan our last full day with actually going in to historical buildings that we really want to see. We each choose one and for me it's the Sacré-Coeur, Sacred Heart church. This was the one building that really called to me. It resembled a palace to me, a beautiful giant building topped with soft voluptuous curves. Something called to me here. There is a great walk of stairs to climb before you earn the right to grace the halls of this cavernous church. We walk inside and hundreds of people are quietly walking around, admiring the intricate details of this place of worship. A thousand candles burn, lit from people who came to appreciate these halls. Beni and I light a large white candle together in honor of our new love and engagement. Photos are not allowed to take place here but I sneak on of our hands and my engagement ring next to our candle of love.
We make our way out of the building and on to Beni's choice of exploration, Chateau De Versailles, the military museum. Beni has a life long dream of being a man of military, and even though he suffered back problems from his short time in the Swiss military, still has that dream. With our marital union it will become possible for him to join the U.S. military. I think it's important to hold on to your dreams, there is always a way if they are meant to be. He is in awe and curiosity as we go through floors and decades of battle and military memorabilia. I personally enjoy the medieval weapons like finely jeweled swords and Beni prefers the guns. We both admire the knight and shinning armor displays. After our tour through history we also make a stop at Las Invalides, the tomb of Napoleon. These buildings are masterpieces in themselves, such beauty lies on every inch. The presence of each building is really powerful, they triumphantly say, "Here I am in all my glory."
Below is a photo of Beni with Napoleon's tomb.
We head back the the comfort of our Republique square. Again we find a nice outside area where we drink more French bubbles and appreciate each other's company, Beni sings me a birthday song even though it is a few days past. We try a little French food this night since the majority of our other meals were served from the American restaurant. It's such a nice trip we have together, mostly focusing on enjoying each other and seeing what we can in-between kisses and embraces. We head back to our little sanctuary hotel room for what we think is going to be our last night in France....
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