Sunny, cloudy, sunrise or sunset, I’m sure I’ve never seen a more beautiful urban river than the Seine, the je ne sais quois of stroll along its banks.
It’s all about the journey,
Beth
The weight of love: Pont des Arts
Love lock on the Pont des Arts in September, 2010
The many bridges crossing the Seine in Paris invoke a certain je ne sais quois, inspiring lovers worldwide to walk amidst their beauty, sharing romantic moments. Around 2008, the walls of several bridges–including the Pont des Arts, with its spectacular view of Île de la Cité–have virtually disappeared from view, covered by swathes of love locks, padlocks symbolizing unbreakable love.
Love locks are not unique to Paris. Bridges in Germany, Taiwan, Canada, and Italy are also festooned with thousands of locks. The tradition, relatively recent in Europe (2000’s), transpires as follows: Sweethearts inscribe their initials, names, or a message of love on a love lock or love padlock. The lock is affixed to a bridge, fence or gate. And then, the sweethearts throw away the key (in this case, into the river Seine) to show their love is forever more.
Over the years, the weight from these locks has put the integrity of these bridges at risk. When we visited Paris in 2010, this is how the Pont des Arts looked:
By 2013, the bridge looked like this:
Photo of Pont des Arts by Disdero.
Then, two days ago, the weight of love became too much and the parapet of Pont des Arts fell into the Seine. The bridge had to be evacuated, and the two grills across a 2.4 meter stretch of the bridge were temporarily replaced by wooden panels.
According to Jean-Pierre Lecoc, the mayor of Paris’ 6th arrondissement, where the bridge is located, the locks on the Pont des Arts weigh as much 10 tons, or 22,000 pounds (each lock weighs 54 to 90 grams or 2-3 ounces). The grate that collapsed yesterday weighed about 200 kilos (~440 pounds) and the bridge has roughly 50 grates.
This is why two friends–both named Lisa–U.S. expats living in Paris, created a petition in 2014 (which you can find here) to save the bridges in Paris from destruction. Their website, No Love Locks™ , implores tourists to: Free your love. Save our bridges. Lisa Anselmo and Lisa Taylor Huff advocate finding a more creative–and less destructive–means to commemorate love. And I agree.
When I visited Pont des Arts in 2010, I confess I was enamored by these little tokens of love. But now I see the the light, and the havoc love locks are wreaking on Paris’s lovely historical bridges (not to mention the Seine…I can only imagine what thousands of metal keys are doing to the water and the fish that swim in it).
So when you visit Paris, please treat the City of Light with more respect. Vive l’amour (Long live love) but set the bridges free!
Take the road less traveled, Beth
Sunset in Paris
In keeping with my Paris theme this week, here are a few sunset shots. There’s nothing like a beautiful sunset, particularly in Paris.
Sunset on the Seine
Sunset at the Tuileries
People aglow at the Tuileries
Seagull flying over the Tuileries at sunset
Want to set your sights on more sunsets? Check out Delicious Baby’s Photo Friday!
Half my life
Walking along the Seine in late summer, I watched the sun sparkle across the water. With a baguette tucked under my arm and a chunk of French runny stinky cheese wrapped in paper, I strolled and nibbled my way along the quaint cobbled streets of the Left Bank. The year was 1985 and I was on a six week vacation in Europe before starting my second year of a Ph.D. program at the University of Washington. I adore traveling and I loved Europe. My pores soaked in every moment, the sounds the sights and the flavors. As soon as I got on the plane to return to Seattle, I began imagining when I might be back.
I never thought it would take another 24 years, half my life, to see the city of lights once again! Years paying for college and graduate school left me with mounds of debt and I worked in low-paying jobs, never seeming to be able to get ahead. If I did hop on a plane, it was to visit my family on the east coast. I longed to find some way to make a trip overseas a reality but it never happened. Somehow I managed to wander very far afield from my dreams and passions.
Last night, a friend and I went to see the movie, Julie and Julia. Julia Child’s story is amazing to watch and Meryl Streep played her to perfection. But what really stopped me in my tracks were scenes of streets and markets of Paris. In one week, I will be there. Big Papa and I are spending three nights in Paris before heading off to Yerevan, Armenia’s capitol. It will be Big Papa’s first time in Europe proper. He’s visited London and Wales, but never the European continent. I can’t wait to share it with him, even though it’s just a blink of a visit.
At first, my list of things to see and do was quite long. Surely we would not sleep. We would visit the Rodin Museum, take a boat ride on the Seine, hike up Montmartre and visit Eiffel Tower at night. There were restaurants to dine at, markets to peruse and neighborhoods to explore.
As reality began to seep in, I realized that I would need to distill my list to just a few chosen gems. I agonized about which attractions I might trade, when it finally dawned on me that what stole my heart and held strong in my memory all these years was just the experience of being there. No matter what we do or where we go, we are in Paris. Together.
I can’t wait to hold Big Papa’s hand while we traipse through the Tuileries or sweat our way up the steps to Sacre Coeur. He’ll see the light dance in my eyes when I spy a chocolate shop a few doors ahead. We’ll both relish meandering through the little market we were surprised to find when we took the wrong turn and rounded the corner.
Bon Voyage to us! All aboard to Paris and then on to Armenia.