(este post lo escribiré sólo en inglés, lo siento… es que es un poco largo…)

February 24th. I can only think about Paris on a day like today. The TGV, french high speed train, had just arrived in Paris, the city of light, love and so much more. A sleepless night in the train, a worried mother left at the gare of Hendaye and thousands of butterflies fluttering in my stomach. As I’m writing these lines, I can’t help myself humming the following lines: The train pulled into Paris, like a rocket to the moon. The stage’s like a circus, every face is a cartoon…”. The faces I saw at Montparnasse sure looked like cartoons. It was 6.00am when the TGV made its entrance at the french gare. It was pitch dark outside. Our hotel was close to the station and I could’ve walked there, but I didn’t feel safe out in the streets by myself so I stayed till the sun came up. I waited impatiently until 7.30am, till I saw the first rays of light warming up the city of Paris. I had a quick breakfast and headed to Hôtel Atlantique.

As I left the station and walked down the street, I saw it for the first time. There it was, standing in the middle of the city. The Eiffel Tower welcomed me back in Paris. I hadn’t seen it in a few years. It only took me ten minutes to arrive at the hotel. A friendly man checked me in and gave me the key to my room. I unpacked my things and lay in bed trying to catch some sleep. It was impossible. Every attempt I made to close my eyes and not think about anything, was simply futile. Oh well, c’est la vie. I took a shower, looked at the mirror. “You look like shit, Maider”. I had only slept three hours in the train. They never turned the lights off and I was too nervous to get lost in some comforting dreams. There’s nothing make-up can’t hide though. Those huge rings I had around my eyes were easily “removed” within minutes.

I wasn’t sure how far the Gare du Nord was from our hotel, so I went downstairs and asked the receptionist for directions. I walked down to the Pasteur subway station and commuted all the way to Montmatre. I arrived in early, it was only 10.30am. So I decided to walk some before getting to the station. Paris looked as beautiful as it did last time. Not much had changed, except for the fact I was a few years older since I last visited la ville de l’amour. On that note, I’d never been to Paris with a partner before, I guess that’s why it looked more beautiful than ever and I dared to call it, for the first time in my life, the city of love.

I was at the station by 10.55am. Five minutes left. The Eurostar train made its entrance at platform one. Hundreds of people walked my direction, but as hard as I tried recognizing a familiar face in the crowd, I saw no one. I felt overwhelmed, worried, disappointed for a few seconds. “Dammit, Maider. Should’ve considered the possibility of him not coming. Of him standing you up”. I felt my blood pressure dropping. It was blurry around me. I looked again all over the station. And there he was, wearing a black coat, carrying a small grey suitcase. I walked with determination towards the place he was standing at, I pushed some people, it was hard to keep balance with all the nerves and low blood pressure. He looked as handsome as when we last kissed at the subway station in New York. He smiled when he spotted me in the crowd, that beautiful smile. I kissed him and hugged him, again. “Hold me, my pressure’s low and I’m afraid of fainting in the middle of the station”, I whispered in his ear. He held my hand and after exchanging some dollars, we left the station and walked back to our hotel.

That was a year ago. That was the beginning of the most passionate, adventurous, romantic, sexy, crazy, sweet, tender, exciting, cheesy, intimate and fun ten days I’ve spent in my life. I felt loved, I felt pretty, I felt I could conquer the world as long as he stood by my side. I hadn’t felt such way in a long-long time, as a matter of fact, I don’t recall feeling that way ever before in my life. And for that, I’m thankful. I will always treasure those unique moments we shared, those moments where time and spaces froze and there was only him and me in the world. Those moments where no telephone was needed to hear his voice, those moments where I had no need to close my eyes to imagine him touching me once again. Those moments…

It’s midnight, the bell’s ringing. But these lines I’ve written were not part of a dream. It was all real. At least for me.

“I’m on a roll when I’m with you. Don’t stop me now, I just can’t lose… ’cause you’re mine, that’s all I need to know. The sun shines, everywhere we go. It’s all right, ’cause I’ve got you to hold every night…” - Second floor at the Eiffel Tower, “singing” this to keep us warm in the cold winter.