Locks of Love

I love Paris! It boasts itself as the most romantic city in the world. One would be hard pressed to challenge its claim.. I discovered a spot that manifested couples declarations of love in a vibrant and brilliant way. On the Ponte de l’Archeveche’, a bridge  which crosses the Seine from Notre-Dame Cathedral, thousands of padlocks attached to its railings create a brightly colored mosaic that glimmers in the sunlight.

Lovers from around the world have come to add their testimony of true love, engraving their initials on the padlocks, in a glitzy plethora of styles, fastening it to the railings, and then tossing the keys into the Seine in declaration of undying love. 

The locks, the bridge, all of Paris are beautiful. Paris is, as Woody Allen said, “drop dead gorgeous!” But I found myself unable to fully enjoy this romantic city without my true love, Doug. I needed a lock of my own to clasp to the railing symbolizing that my heart belongs to him. 

Every romantic scene; every tree lined boulevard, every café filled with couples sharing a cappuccino, every captivating cathedral, every cobblestone road, every beautifully bare-breasted sculpture, every magical glowing light at night somehow lost some of its magic for me because I didn’t have my true love. I missed him!

True Love: what every heart desires, what every soul needs. And I was missing mine. How thankful I am that he is home waiting for me. How thankful I am that he fills my heart and completes my soul. And my heart is locked forever with his.