Paris, the Eiffel Tower. An illusion, yet so real.  But what is it really? Is it merely a gigantic metal structure or is it something else? That’s what someone might think but when they see it.

Imagine that your day starts off like this…

You wake up early in the morning to a delicious breakfast of fresh out of the oven croissants with a café au lait. You take a bus to the Louvre where you see one of the most famous paintings in history: the Mona Lisa, meaning My Lady Lisa. You climb the steps up the Arc de Triumph and see the memorial to the soldiers who died in the war. Next, you take the bus to the Notre Dame Cathedral.

Now it is afternoon, and you are hanging out in a Parisian coffee shop sitting at a table along the sidewalk, eating baguette and watching the world go by. In the distance the Eiffel tower looms above the rooftops of Paris, like some strange illusion.

When it is evening, it is time to see the tower up close. After a dinner of crepes at a café, you stroll towards the Eiffel tower. You can see it from a distance and it looks like the gigantic metal structure that it is.
And then as you get closer and turn a corner, all of a sudden there it is. You hold your breath. No longer an illusion. No longer a dream. It’s real.

You stand there staring at it, a complicated mass of metal but strangely beautiful. Then as it get darker, the tower seems to fade into the blackness.   A few moments later, taking you completely by surprise, suddenly it lights up, glowing like a giant Christmas tree decorated with a thousand lights. You catch your breath. It’s the most beautiful thing you’ve ever seen. Reminding you the world isn’t an illusion. It’s real. Just daring you to come forward.  “It’s amazing.” That’s all you can say. “Fascinating, spectacular… “, You’ve never been at a loss for words before.

You forget about everything. All your worries seem to fade away. All you can think of is the fantastic sight in front of you. You start walking until you are almost touching one of the metal pillars. Now you have proof it’s not an illusion. And, you savor the magic of this moment.