PARIS: Locking Our Love on the Ponts des Arts

In Paris, there stands a bridge. A bridge covered in padlocks of every size, shape, and color. But these locks aren't ordinary locks...locks that keep away trespassers or ones used for hiding things behind closed doors. These locks are locks of love. Locks that are symbolic of the commitment between two souls bound together by the ties of the heart, left on the Ponts des Arts bridge to show the world a love no one can break. Written on the faces of the locks are the names of those who've found their heart's desire. The keys to them lie below, floating along the current of the Seine River, never to be found again. 

D and I left a lock, our lock, on the Ponts des Arts bridge our last night in Paris; something we'd always dreamed of doing if we ever found ourselves in the city of love and lights. It was a special moment we shared with two dear friends of ours, who also left a lock on the bridge themselves. As we stood there, throwing our keys to the bottom of the Seine, memorializing the life we'd built together, passers by gave their congratulations. Some even clapped. It was impossible to wipe the smiles off our faces. It's amazing how something so silly as leaving a lock covered in Sharpie on a bridge can bring all the feelings of bliss from our wedding day back to my mind. The love, the commitment, the congratulations...all while standing on an old metal bridge in Paris. It's a moment I'll soon not forget. If you ever find yourself in love and in Paris, take your special someone on a romantic stroll to the Ponts des Arts and leave a lock of your own. I hope one day to return to see it still hanging there as a shining symbol of my unfailing love for D. 

The Eiffel Tower may have all the glitz and glamor, but it's got nothing on the sacred beauty of this bridge.