Love is Always in the Air in Paris-Scenes and Stories

 

On my recent visit to Paris, I was reminded of the days when I traveled frequently to Japan and Europe on business.  On one hand, in Europe (especially in Paris), I regularly witnessed lovers embracing with no reservations about expressing affection in public.  In contrast, while in Tokyo, I would see long lost couples or family members reunite and display no emotion in public.  I prefer the Parisian scenes of inhibited love.

Here are some scenes that recently brought a smile to my face:

 

The Love Locks Bridge.

Here is the story the Love Lock ritual: A couple writes their names on a padlock and locks it onto one of the bridges. To seal their love for eternity, they throw the key into the Seine river. 

 

Love-locks started appearing in European cities in the early 2000s, and the original favored Paris spot was the Pont des Arts, a footbridge crossing the Seine from the Louvre. But in May 2010, those love-locks disappeared overnight, without explanation.

Paris Town Hall expressed concern over the growing number of love-locks, saying: "they raise problems for the preservation of our architectural heritage". It's not only the Town Hall that expressed doubts; from time to time a dejected ex-lover has been seen desperately hacking at a padlock with a pair of pliers.

Shortly after this announcement, the bridge was found all but bare following a nocturnal clean-up.

Since the disappearance, lovers have shown their indignation by building-up collections once more, this time on Pont de l'Archevêché, next to Notre Dame.

A year after their mysterious disappearance, the "love-locks" of Paris are back on the city's bridges, more plentiful and vibrant than ever despite lingering suspicions that unromantic officials from City Hall may again swoop with their wire cutters and remove the tokens of couples' love.

On the Pont de l'Archevêché, a bridge which crosses from Notre-Dame Cathedral to the Left Bank of the Seine, thousands of ribbons and padlocks attached to its railings create a brightly-colored mosaic that can be seen glimmering in the sunlight from the banks of the Seine.

Over the past year, lovers from around the globe have come to add their own testimony of love, engraving their initials on the padlocks – be it a pretty pink bike lock or a heavy duty brick of steel – fastening it to the railings, and tossing the keys into the Seine in a declaration of undying love.

I Love You Wall

 

The I Love You Wall, a work of art conceived by Frédéric Baron and Claire Kito, is a must-see for couples from all over the world visiting Paris, the city of romance. The enormous wall, measuring 430 sq. ft., is composed of 612 squares of enamelled lava, on which 'I love you' is featured 311 times in 250 languages (including Braille). The splashes of red on the fresco represent parts of a broken heart, symbolizing the human race which has been torn apart and which the wall tries to bring back together. This unusual monument, dedicated to love, stands in a Square at the Place des Abbesses in Montmartre.