The Moments That Melt My Heart...

I just returned from a dream vacation to France, visiting some of the most romantic cities, experiencing the best in Gastronomy and being pampered in spectacular hotels, including a chateau, and more importantly some quality time with my love. What more could a girl ask for?

This trip meant more than the splurge it was. As we drove through the country side between cities, I was blessed with a few quiet moments to reflect. Life in the city is noisy, not just physically but mentally. There’s always a distraction, something going on, somewhere to be, someone to see, deadlines and expectations… looking out the window it all faded away into the quiet of the vineyards and villages in the distance. I enjoyed the stillness. Still enough to feel life. To reconnect with myself, to check out of the past and future, and sit in the moment, present. 

Home, as I reconnect with family and friends, I realized as my mom asked me what was my favourite part of the trip… For a moment, it really was a tough question to answer. The whole trip was truly a dream. A weekend in Paris, a sunset at Sacre Coeur, dinner overlooking the Eiffel Tower, a cruise on the Seine, exploring the Louvre and a trip to Versailles. A night in Champagne on the Estate of a Proprietor, visiting some of the most well known Champagne Houses, then waking up to a view from our balcony of the sun coming over the mountain to light up the miles upon miles of vineyards in the distance. Visiting some of the most spectacular Chateaux in the Loire Valley, then spending the night in a chateau where we enjoyed perhaps the dining experience of a lifetime. To our final stop in Bordeaux, visiting and tasting some of the best wines in the world. Learning about the fine art of winemaking, selection and tasting, to a personal cooking class. Falling asleep and waking up each morning to a panoramic view of Bordeaux. Walking the streets of this beautiful city, waiting out the rain over a bottle of wine in the afternoon, to one last bottle of champagne at the airport…

Yet, I realized, the moments that melted my heart had nothing to do with any of it. I looked at my mom and said, the quality time with my love. The chance to step out of reality and all of it’s stressors and distractions to truly connect. I smiled, as I recounted to myself the moments that truly melted my heart. The real romance wasn’t the fancy restaurants, or beautiful hotel rooms, it was the simplest gestures. It was waking up to his smile. Hearing him use the word Beautiful as if it were my second name. It was the moments he reached for my hand whether to cross a street or simply to walk closer together, a feeling of connectedness and safety. A random touch, just a reminder he was close. A surprise kiss on the cheek or forehead. Our eyes meeting, whether we were side by side or across a room, and the look that says “I love you” and I’m always looking out for you. It was the look on his face after I appeared from spending the time to look good for him. It was those moments that made my heart melt, in those moments I fell in love, over and over again. That was the favourite part of my trip.

A reminder to me as I return to life in all of it’s hectic glory, that what matters most, costs nothing and is available anywhere, any time. Connection. A feeling. It applies to any relationship really. How many opportunities do we miss to tell someone we love them? How great they look today? Reaching for a hand. Spending a few extra minutes to look good for someone. Forget the lists, the criteria. Look for that feeling, your heart melting… it’s there that love exists.