Love it or hate it -- Paris

The last couple of months have passed me by too quickly. It's been hard to put into words the emotions felt at each place and although each has left an impression on me, trying to recapture them for the blog would be a very difficult task. I've decided instead to blog more recent events in attempt to get up to date with our current location.
After a crazy and messy Madrid visit, we moved on to Paris. I had concerns about Paris given the many stories I had heard about the French's dislike for Americans and the poor service one receives for not speaking their language. I realize many of those stories were based on other people's travels and perhaps founded on limited exposure with the French and their city of lights. I, however, fell in love with the city almost instantly upon seeing the Eiffel Tower on our way to the hotel. Our days in Paris were also spent with my sister, brother, and sister in law -- which of course added a certain emotional element to our visit.
Paris is by far one of my favorite destinations of this trip. It seemed that everywhere I turned I could find some building of outstanding beauty to admire. The Seine river running through the city only added to Paris' air of romance and elegance. The sparkling light show of the Eiffel Tower captured me every time. The art of the Louvre, the Van Gogh's at Musee D'Orsay, Rodin's The Thinker, the Champs Elysees all dressed up in sparkling blue, the food at the Latin Quarter, the Cathedral of Notre Dame, the Arc de Triomphe...and so much more that left me breathless.
On our last night in Paris, Ian and I sat down at the Trocadero square watching the Eiffel Tower in all of its grandeur standing in front of us. We stayed until we were ready to say goodnight to Paris -- a city we know we'll have to come back to.