May 18   Paris snaps

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It’s taken me this long to blog about our trip at new year’s to Paris. I think partly it’s been because there’s been a horrible delay in our wedding photos which got me down about thinking about the whole thing. And also partly because it felt so private. But, you know, with distance and time and all that … :)

At our wedding reception, a friend of mine wanted us to open their gift. Alas, all the gifts had already been packed away and were en route to my parents’ and they were quite alarmed. “Promise me, you’ll open it before you leave!” she said desperately. “The present will be meaningless if you wait til you get home.” My parents managed to bring two potential present candidates when we met up with them on Christmas Day and we opened the wrong one first! But when we opened their present, it was really clear what she meant!

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Instructions – that they had given us a gift of memory – what a fantastic idea! We were to head to the bridge as outlined in her note and then place the lock enclosed on the bridge to symbolise our enduring passion and then toss the keys into the river below.

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Engraved on one side are our names and on the other, our wedding date. We both loved the idea and also the sense of mission about it. I think we decided it would be the first thing we would do in Paris, it had such a sense of urgency about it and set of tasks and would help us settle into the city and get our bearings before we figured out what else we wanted to do.

We headed off, jetlagged into the cold Parisian day. Stopping, of course, past the first patisserie we saw – on the corner opposite our hotel – and ate what I think will always be the best pastry of my life.

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One of the really fun ideas that worked out well was I bought a bunch of  walking tours of Paris on cards – I think there were 50 different ones. And we pulled out the one that went past the bridge we were to visit and headed out and did that. This photo is of C checking the card for directions! They were so much fun – really appealled to the gamer in C and I got to see lots of out of the way things that I never would have found on my own. The cards also pointed out important things like which cafes and icecreameries and famous patisseries to stop past on the way to things :)

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And voila! Here I am on the bridge. Note my tourist sneakers! Notre Dame is just in front of me and to the right. And all the shiny things behind me are locks on the bridge. I dunno. I was kinda torn on this whole thing, en masse, does it ruin the bridge or does it make it into a contemporary living and breathing part of the city? I tried not to think about the pollution of all those rusting keys in the river bed below.

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Proof that we succeeded in our mission.

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And just one of the reasons I love him – taking some pictures for the coordinates of where we placed our lock so we can come back and find it again later. xx



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5 Comments

  • By Jo on 19 May 2013 at 1:36 am

    I’m going to be in Paris in July, where is the bridge? If we get a chance to visit your lock, we will. :-)

  • By Jo on 19 May 2013 at 1:38 am

    Oh, and what a wonderful wedding present! :-)

  • By AlisaK on 19 May 2013 at 1:12 pm

    Pont de l’Archeveche – right near Notre Dame.

  • By AlisaK on 19 May 2013 at 1:12 pm

    such a great present!

  • By Ju on 21 May 2013 at 3:51 pm

    Such an amazing and thoughtful present! Loved seeing the pics as well – you both look so happy and it makes me smile so much!

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