A Favorite View of the Eiffel Tower

Life in Paris is expensive. Rent, eating out, and gasoline (petrol, for you Brits) costs a lot. So does a bad euro/dollar exchange rate if you happen to be paid in dollars (as we are).

Nevertheless, as the MasterCard commercial (in both Americanish and French), there are some things that are priceless (and free). One of them is a view of the Eiffel Tower that I get when I go to my church in Belleville. Tonight I went there for the 4th session of La Fonderie. It was just around sunset and during the end of a rainstorm.


After getting out of the #26 bus going north on the Rue des Pyrenées, one turns left on the Rue de Belleville and start walking downhill. Except for when it's cloudy, one gets a nice view of the Eiffel Tower. And it's free!

The Eiffel Tower is what most people first picture when they think of Paris. I've been to the top of it more times that I can remember now during my 11 years in Paris.

The most important trip to the top was on March 2, 1997. That is when I took my beloved Nicole and asked her to marry me. She waited a second or two before giving me the YES that I had dreamed of for many years. We were married that August and the rest is history.

The Eiffel Tower thus is part of our relational history. For me, seeing it reminds me of the relationship that we have shared since our trip to the top. Images and events of this week, often referred to as Holy Week, also are reminders of our relationship with God.