The First Time I Saw Paris

Blog #13

     My love of Paris began when I started studying French in sixth grade in a class on educational television called “French for Fun”.  I was immediately hooked and, then, began a lifetime love of anything French.  There was a cute little puppet named French Fry on the show who helped us practice “bon jour” and “au revoir”.  In eighth grade, I began studying French again and continued to read, write and speak French through high school.  We studied the culture and learned much about the country and, of course, its capital, Paris.  I also took French in college and made some friends who lived in Paris. In my sophomore year, I lived in “La Maison Française” where our goal was to speak French at all times. (I cannot say we always did that, but it was the goal.)  My dream for over ten years was to visit France, especially Paris.

      I was to have that opportunity.  My friend and I had arrived in Brussels, Belgium for a seven week European trip in the 1970’s. After visiting eight countries, we were on an overnight train from southwestern France to spend a week in Paris.  We were both very excited, but we were exhausted and were readily able to sleep on the train.

      On the train at sunrise, my eyes popped open and I pulled back the curtain to see where we were.  Out of that train window, I saw only one thing on the horizon that morning.  Against the bright pink and blue backdrop of the sky, I was overwhelmed by the grand, magnificent, enormous, Eiffel Tower.  It let me know we had arrived and that my greatest expectation would not be disappointed, though we were still many kilometers away. The tears just rolled down my cheeks.  What else could I do?  After all, Paris is the most beautiful city in the world and this was the first time I saw Paris!