Before our trip to France, I was excited to see everything… except the Eiffel Tower. Which I’m only realizing now is ironic because of all the Eiffel Tower figurines I have displayed in our apartment. I knew we had to go see it but I’d seen so many pictures of it in my life, it was just another site on our very long list.

And it wasn’t going to be as ornate as Versailles or as spiritual as the Notre Dame; it’s just this big metal structure. Like scaffolding or the bones of something that once was beautiful. So I thought. But no Google Image search or establishing shots they show on TV during the French Open compared to seeing it in person. 

It was actually breathtaking; we were actually speechless. You don’t expect it to be so awe-inspiring or to have such an impact. And there was an unexpected beauty in its darkness and simplicity.
  

And it’s not just something you go see; it was our constant companion. From so many different points in Paris, you see it peeking around buildings and through trees or it will suddenly appear, seemingly out of nowhere, and you’re hit all over again. The big metal structure, beautiful all on its own.