So this is what they call Walking on Clouds

I'm quite reticent to speak of this past week on my blog. I can't help but think that once I start writing it out, the magic will be spun like an intricate web onto my blog and out of reality. The positive nervous energy I feel might just float out and stick to the screen and be out of me forever. I never want to stop feeling as full of love and happiness as I do right now.

*sigh*

There is also so much to say about the past 7 days. I had such a good time that when we got in the black cab at Waterloo to go home, I couldn't for the life of me think of our address. I had become so detached from reality. When we got off the train in Waterloo and I saw the Millennium Eye in the background, I completely burst into tears. I wasn't sad to be home, I wasn't sad to be back in reality - but as I was stepping off onto the platform, I looked down at my hand and saw that the ring was indeed still there; That our engagement and whispered plans were not just part of a black and white film script. My full-up heart swamped with Paris and Valentines, roses, lit-up Eiffel Towers and beautiful cliches. Conrad kept having to repeat 'will you marry me' over and over again every place we went, so I actually got it firm and strong in my system. This wasn't a crazy dream, he hadn't just had a little bit too much to drink - my dream had become a clear, undeniable, ring-wearing reality.

So now, my friends I will give a little summary of Valentines Week in Paris. It's going to be tough deciding which memories to share and which pictures are best. I love them all - the tiny moments where we peeked around the corners and realised we were closer to Notre Dame then we first realised - the moment I was sat there realising I could definitely live happily in France, the moment I saw millions of paparazzi swarming around in the restaurant and realising I had just laid eyes on Sharon Stone...

So many.. To give you a little bit of background, this was my forth time in Paris. My first was at the age of 12 when I went with an 'honour choir' to sing with International Schools all over Europe. The second time was with my family.. I think I was 13. Third and forth time was with Conrad 5 years ago, and then 2 years ago. We decided to take in the more relaxed side of Paris - explore the worlds of cafes, brasseries, restaurants, walkways... We had already 'done' all the major tourist attractions, so it felt good just to wander and see where our excited legs would take us.

So we caught the 5:00am train from Waterloo, blinked our eyes and arrived in central Paris. Conrad slept the whole time and I dozed a little here and there. It took less time to get there then it usually does to go visit my folks on the other side of England. Crazy.

Our first port of call was the Sacre Couer. This is the one area of Paris that I hadn't spent much time in before; Montmartre. It's the highest point in the city and has breath-taking views of everything, including the Eiffel Tower. The cloudiness and wintery day just made the views more moody and romantic for me. (from now on, I will try and refrain from using the word 'romantic'. It doesn't even sound like a word anymore to me..)

We then ambled along the cobbled streets, dodging crazy Parisian drivers and popping into boutiques here and there. We eventually ended up buying our first piece of art together in a cute little art shop specialising in scenes of Montmartre, little scenes of cafes and cobbled streets.

We couldn't help but draw comparisons to the film 'Amelie' as many of the scenes were shot around the Sacre Couer.

After stopping here there and everywhere for half-liters of table wine and cups of over-priced coffee, we stumbled upon a candle-lit brasserie type place where the menu and atmosphere looked extra-ordinary. Conrad and I have a bit of a love affair with French food. I can't get enough of it, I dream of it, and even when I've eaten so much I feel sick I keep over-endulging my gutt with it. So to say we had a lovely dinner would be a major understatement. Dinner consisted of fois gras (so creamy!) on soft white baguette followed by a massive old hunk of beef (crispy on the outside, delightfully pink on the inside) with blue-cheese sauce and pepper sauce respectively. By the end of this 'light' meal (on our standards) we were already full - so upset that we couldn't have an after-dinner treat of cheeses.

After dinner we decided to go see the Moulin Rouge building. Having walked about half way there and seeing massive buildings with 'Sexodrome' and 'Live Peep Shows' every other building, with ladies thrusting there who-knows-what at me, we promptly realised we were in the red light district at prime-time red light time. A little flustered and taken aback, we doubled back on ourselves and decided day-light be more of an appopriate time to explore these little avenues.

The next day we woke up pretty late to a slightly rainy Valentines Day. We decided to "wander down the Champs Elysees" and (of course) I had to sing Joni Mitchell the entire way down. Because "I was a free man in Paris.. I was unfettered and alive.. Nobody callin' me up for favours, no-one's futures to decide.." Actually, I think that's the only reason we went there - so we could sing that song.

I realised while walking down there up towards Concorde, looking back and seeing the Arc De Triumphe - February was a nice time to visit Paris. The streets were empty, I felt like we were the only people in the world.

The misty rain settled a kind of happy peacefulness over the city. It was nice to have to cuddle up for warmth and take refuge in a warm side-walk cafe. This time round we wandered through the Louvre gardens looking for the perfect baguette place. And we found it. Right around the corner from the Louvre, we had the best baguette with ham and cheese and pickle. If I died right after my baguette, I would have been a happy woman.

I'm afraid that's all I can write for now. My fingers are starting to twitch, and my ring is too sparkly for me to concentrate. Ha. Just had to mention my ring at some point in here..

I'll leave you with a couple other points I noticed at Paris this time round that I hadn't noticed my other trips - You can also call this 'a few helpful tips':

• When crossing a road, do not assume that the walking green man means you won't get run over. The cars pretty much wait till you start moving and gun it right at you. A common phrase that we would use is 'run for your lives!!'
  
• At any point in the day you will see at least 3 people walking down the road with a long baguette. Nothing in it - just a long baguette. More often then not, they will be chomping down on it like it's the most natural thing in the world.
• As a lady, when excusing yourself to go to the restroom, you say that (in English, because I never took French class) you're excusing yourself to go to the 'little corner' - petit cour.
• Parisian women seemingly do not have larger feet then size 40. If you ask for a larger size in a shop, the sales lady/gent will laugh at you in your face.
• The Metro has a tendency to smell like farts. More specifically, baguette farts. My conclusion was that because so many people eat baguettes, and lots of cheese, there is a constant aura of baguette-fart smelliness. I'm not kidding.

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• The Eiffel Tower is on it's own in the middle of nowhere. There's no accidentally stumbling across it - You have to trek across all of Paris to get close.

Stay tuned for the conclusion of our Parisian heaven.