Montmartre

Montmartre was the real life vision of what I had imagined Paris to be more like. Cobblestone lane ways lined with ancient houses spread thickly with vines, artists glued to easels as a view of the city blossomed from the tip of their paintbrush, and patisseries sporting windows full of glazed delights on every corner. It was quaint and beautiful, a little town tucked away behind the hill that is the highest point in the city. Perched atop the hill stands the Sacre`-Coeur Basilica, a beautiful white domed church. If we thought the view of the city from the top of the hill was good, we were absolutely blown away by the view from the top of the dome. Literally, the very top, which we found out after a very claustrophobic 15 minutes spent climbing a narrow, winding stair case inside the tallest turret of the dome. Despite the hoards of tourists, we spent the day lazing around in the sun, sprawled out on the grass eating frozen yoghurt and exploring the little artist's town.

Disneyland

It's true what they say about Disneyland. It's the happiest place on Earth. Of all the places I've been, Disneyland has to be up there with one of my favourites. I had always dreamed of going as a child, but never imagined I would ever get the chance. You can imagine my face when Jacob told me we were going when we visited Japan last year, and then my reaction again when we booked to go to Euro Disney. There's so much ground to cover (and I wasn't prepared to miss a single detail), so we spent a good 12+ hours in the park on both occasions. After working solidly for nearly two months straight and bearing the wrath of non-existant weekends, it was the most liberating feeling to let my inner child out and, dare I say it, get the full Disney experience. As sickening as some people find it, I adore Disney, and grew up watching wide-eyed as every fairytale unfolded. It was an incredible day which involved consuming unnecessary amounts of sugar,  riding Space Mountain as many times as my stomach would allow and me running around and grinning madly like the Cheshire Cat. At the end of the day, we were more than exhausted, and the evening was appropriately spent watching a palate of pastels frame the castle with some of the prettiest cotton-candy skies I had ever seen.

Pont de l’Archeveche

New, rusting, some engraved, some simply scrawled with the word 'FOREVER', I could have spent hours here, reading the vows inscribed on the thousands of padlocks that line the Pont de l’Archeveche- a bridge over the Siene widely known as the love lock bridge. I love the idea that something as mundane as a small brass padlock is now represented as loves greatest metaphor. I feel as though only the parisians could transform such a simple gesture into some poetic act of romance.