Place de la Concorde

Place de la Concorde is not the center of Paris, but it should be. From here you are able to view and access the Louvre, Avenue des Champs-Élysées, see the Eiffel Tower, the obelisk of Luxor, and have a stroll through the history of Triumphs and Tragedies. Here, it seems, history, literature, art, and life pulses through these streets.

Paris is simple and complex. The people have endured revolution, been conquered and have conquered others. Often Americans forget, without France there would be no America. Without America, there would be swastikas flying still in the streets of Paris. This blood line between the two nations is deep and strong. In every sense of the words of Liberty and Freedom, these two nations are tied together under the constant tides and changes in the air that seem to project the challenge of the pursuit of life. Freedom is an intangible notion that people innately chase externally, through a person's own definitions of what that truly means is often in question. To be what you want. To do what you want. To experience the full nature of what it means to live for those brief moments of time we are given.

The appearances of grandeur, royalty...all remain. The people did not destroy these images when they changed their government by force. It is a testament that all governments should heed. The government should fear the people because it is for the people that governments exist. Yet, we also need to realize that governments are designed to serve.
The great wheel is up, and it spun around, displays for the tourists to see. However, it amazes me how the sounds of Paris are the sounds of many languages, cultures and creeds. I looked at the wheel in sheer appreciation. Just a wheel, perhaps, but the people still come just for the moment of seeing this grand dame of a city. The wheel evolved to provide comfort, instead of feeling the cold air sting the cheeks of those who used to ride the open chairs.
A wonderful footbridge is not far away that crosses the Seine. The steps going up and over the murky waters that churn with tourist boats...but there are no cars on this bridge. Just us.
And the locks that are placed along the bridge...the locks of love...of pledges two people who try to give love a go...for whatever time that may be...a moment or a lifetime.