Alexander and I stopped to go into some shops. We bought some things like souvenirs and then proceeded to Arc De Triomphe. We took an underground passage instead of trying to cross the square. Apparently, it was very dangerous.
We climbed the Arc which was two hundred and eighty-four steps but totally worth it. You could see everything from up here. It was a panoramic terrace. It didn’t take much for us to be worn out. After getting down from the Arc, we were ready to head back to the hotel and rest.
It was a long walk. I couldn’t believe how tired I was and how bad my feet hurt. Day one went great. We finally made it back to the hotel, and we were starving. I didn’t want to have to go back out and find somewhere to eat. We decided to just go down to the hotel restaurant. Alexander ordered us some steaks, and they were tender with a delicious lemon-pepper seasoning.
Chapter Twenty-Four
ALEXANDER
I was so happy Ella was enjoying herself. She had wanted to come here for a long time, and I was happy I could make her dream come true. She meant everything to me, and I just wanted her to be happy.
“Wake up, rise and shine. Let’s get this day started,” I said as I shook her awake.
“Good morning, baby.”
She hurried up and got dressed so we could begin our day. Pierre was taking us to the Musée d’Orsay. It’s a French art museum that had pieces from the 19th and 20th centuries. It had Monet and Degas. I enjoyed looking at the art. It was interesting to see what others could accomplish with paint, clay, and other things. I couldn’t do something like that. We spent the next three hours touring the museum. It had so many paintings, and Ella loved it.
I wanted to make her happy, and I was doing a good job. I would give her anything she wanted in life. I had been thinking about making this permanent. I just wasn’t sure how she would feel about it. We had been together for almost a year now, and even though it was a short time, nothing would make me happierthan her becoming my wife. I could see a bright future with her. She would be a wonderful mother and wife.
I needed to think about it some more. I hoped one day I would propose, and she would say yes.
Tonight we were going to the Eiffel Tower. It was iconic to visit while in Paris. We would be heading there soon because I’d heard that it was more beautiful at night.
After a long walk, we finally made it to the Eiffel Tower. The sun was setting, and it was one of the most beautiful sunsets I’d ever seen. The sky was shades of orange, yellow, pink, and blue. Once the sun went completely down, the Eiffel Tower lit up with lights.
I had never seen so many beautiful things in one place. This place amazed me. I was so glad we decided to come here. There were still so many things left to see.
The Eiffel Tower was tall. It was much taller than it seemed in pictures. I wondered how long it would take to walk to the top of it. I don’t think either of us had the energy tonight. We had been walking around for the last eight hours.
“Baby, are you ready to head back to the hotel?”
“Yes, I’m getting tired, and my feet are killing me!”
“Thank God, it’s not just me.”
It was a long walk back to the hotel. We would be leaving the day after tomorrow.
“We will have to get up early tomorrow. We have a lot of things to see before we leave.”
“I know, babe. It will be seven p.m. by the time we make it back to the hotel. We can just go to sleep and get up early.”
That was exactly what we did. We ended up passing out after taking our shoes off. Six a.m. came early, but we were both wide awake. I felt refreshed. I wanted to get out there and explore some more for our last day here.
“It’s our last day. We will go and hit some things that we haven’t seen yet.”
Pierre took us to Louvre. There were thirty thousand works of art to look at there.
“This is the world’s largest and most visited museum on Earth,” Pierre said.
After exploring there, we moved on to the Opera. Opera Garnier was said to be one of the most beautiful buildings in Paris. From the outside, the building was held up by a lot of pillars.
Going inside, my breath was taken away. There were chandeliers and staircases everywhere. It reminded me of a palace. There were paintings on the walls and ceilings. It looked so amazing. My mom once told me about this place. She loved visiting Paris. I had hoped that one day I would be able to take her again, but then she passed.
I now understood why this was one of her favorite places in Paris. The architecture was magnificent. The lighting and paintings were chosen perfectly for the building. We walked and explored every inch of the building and then moved on to The Galeries Lafayette which was a huge shopping center.
“Let’s go shopping,” I told Ella.
“Alexander, I don’t need anything.”