I Will Never Forget Paris

I have no idea how I’m going to fit in everything I want to share with you about my trip to Europe in one post.  This trip felt as if I stepped into another world; everything was different.  I was anxious to see everything I had only read about in books or seen in movies.

The first place we toured was the tulip fields in the province of  Noord-Holland. Rows upon rows of different colored tulips; they almost didn’t look real. I wanted to run up and down the fields wearing a white flowing dress with a crown of flowers around my head while my hubby chases me in slow motion. Hahaha I’m a hopeless romantic.  

It was a dark and gloomy day when we arrived in Amsterdam.  As I walked the streets, what stood out immediately was how many people I saw writing bicycles.  Kids, moms, dads, the elderly, teens, and even business men in their suits and brief cases were on their bikes.  I saw more bike lanes than car lanes.

The weather was perfectly suited for where we were going next;  “Anne Frank’s” house.  I read the book about her life in high school and remember being impacted greatly.  When I stood in front of the house, I thought about how in her writings she described everything she could see happening outside her window.  As we made our way inside I felt as if I knew where everything was, because of her descriptions. The one thing I was not expecting was the flood of emotion that overtook me when I saw the bookshelf.  The bookcase that her family used to hide the entrance to what they called “the secret annex” Anne and her family lived in hiding for two years in a 500 square foot room.  They were soon after, betrayed and captured.  All of her family except her father Oliver Frank were killed in concentration camps; including Anne. I felt a cloud of grief encamp around me.  I wept and mourned the loss of the many Jews that were killed. 

On to my next adventure…. While in college I wrote a paper for my humanities class about an artist that got my attention. He had a turbulent life. His love life was a tragedy in itself; fell in love with his cousin who rejected him. Lived with a prostitute for almost two years and lastly, a woman that was in love with him attempted suicide by poison. But his worse cross to carry was suffering from mental illness. He experienced hallucinations, severe depression and attacks of some sort. In one occasion he mutilated the bottom half of his own ear and gave it to a prostitute.  His illness became so severe that he ended up in asylums multiple times. In the end he shot himself in the chest and died 22 hours later.  His best friend who was also his brother sat by his bedside as he slowly passed away. His last words were “the sadness will last forever.” His name was Vincent Van Gogh. Can you imagine how I felt when I walked into his museum in Amsterdam? I was in awe of his paintings. I could see his life through them; his dark days as well as his bright days. My appreciation for art rose to a different level that day. 

If you know me,  you know that I can sometimes go to the extreme to ease my curiosity. Lol So while visiting Amsterdam I just had to see the red light district. Again something I had learned about in college.  The red light district is an avenue in which prostitutes display themselves in windows.  As I walked the avenue, I was saddened to see beautiful young women waste their life away by selling their bodies. No human being was made to be sold or bought.  I left there with deep sorrow knowing that these women will probably never live life to the fullest. 

Now… my journey to Paris! We chose to drive to France from Holland, not too far of a drive.  The best thing about driving was the sightseeing. We stopped in Belgium to eat chocolates. Lol As we were getting closer to Paris I could feel butterflies in my stomach.  If I was dreaming, please nobody better dare wake me up!! The street side café’s, the tall beautiful people dressed in elegant black clothes; the smell of fashion was in the air. People seemed to be taking strolls just for the sake of walking. Our hotel room was exactly like what you see in the movies; small, cozy and with two wooden windows that opened to the view of the city. If I died then, I had lived. LOL Off we went to the famous Musee du  Louvre where I saw the original Mona Lisa painting, yeah… just as ugly as the replicas. hahaha We also toured the famous Notre Dame Cathedral; I've never seen a more beautiful cathedral. By the time we arrived at the Eiffel tower night had fallen.  My hubby had me close my eyes until I was directly in front of it.  When I opened my eyes I was speechless, I never thought I would one day be standing in front of the Eiffel tower.  We sat in a bistro directly in front of it and enjoyed fresh pastries with espresso.





Holding that tiny cup of espresso on one hand and warm bread on the other hand, while staring up at the lighted Eiffel tower made me feel like one of "them" without the skinny, elegant, beautiful part. LOl





This concludes my travel week... I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did.  Hopefully you walk away inspired to try something new, create a memory or travel the world! 

as for me.... I will Never Forget Paris :)