Have you ever been so entranced in a moment that it seems as though nothing else exists? This experience happened to me while I was exploring Paris, France for spring break last April.
The whole five days I was in Paris was full of adventure. Myself and the group I was with visited the Louvre and Notre Dame, put locks on the love lock bridge, walked the Champs de Elysees and ate many Nutella filled crepes. But nothing stuck out nearly as much as my first time seeing the Eiffel Tower.
I feel as though everyone talks about the Eiffel Tower as being beautiful and many people see it as a romantic site. Before I came to Paris I already thought to myself that describing the Tower to my friends and family would be a bit cliché. However, when I actually saw the massive structure in person, it left me speechless.
It was getting dark as we were walking through the streets of Paris headed towards the Eiffel Tower. It is a very busy city so there were many people quickly moving around us going about their business. There were many vendors trying to sell different toys and gadgets set up on blankets along the streets. They would say “one euro!” over and over again. It was actually a little annoying. And whenever the police would pull up they would close their blanket into a bag in one swift motion and run away. There were also long lines for various French foods set up along the street and Paris Fashion Week was even going on.
When we were getting closer, there was a large number of stairs we took going up a hill so that we would be overlooking the Eiffel Tower when we got there. The stairs were very steep looking from a distance and it wasn’t an easy climb.
Once we made it to the top, there were normal streets like I was used to seeing. It wasn’t until we walked a little farther and rounded a corner that I saw anything.
As soon as we made the bend, there it was. The Eiffel Tower. A huge, beautiful structure lit up with sparkles beaming before us. I was completely captivated in this moment. I just stood there. I didn’t take out my camera, I didn’t comment on it to other people. I forgot about the busy-ness of the city and the hundreds of other tourists around me. The only thing I think I did was let my mouth drop open a little. It was the most beautiful site I had ever seen!
It was a lot bigger than I had imagined it being, it was lit up a dark yellow color and every couple minutes lights throughout the tower would sparkle in a pattern.
Once I stared for, well, probably only ten seconds, although it felt like longer, I did pull out my camera to take pictures and I starting talking to my friends in amazement over the site. However, no pictures or videos could fully capture what I was seeing.
As we walked closer it got even more beautiful as I could see all the details in the structure of the Tower. I got to experience going up into the two levels of the tower as well. It was pretty crowded as the Tower is a high tourist attraction but the views were amazing. I could see the whole city lit up from different directions as I was up so high.
It really made me appreciate my opportunity being in Paris. Being in a place so beautiful and so popular I really felt lucky that I was there visiting a place so many people talk about wanting to see. I just wanted to soak in every minute of this adventure because I knew this might be my only time experiencing it.
Throughout other days in our trip we would pass the Eiffel tower, never in nighttime again, though. And although it was beautiful every time I saw it, nothing compared to seeing it the first time, lit up and sparkling bright as soon as I rounded the corner.