In the cloying cold that consumed most of Europe a few weeks ago, spending any considerable amount of time outdoors was unthinkable. Physically impossible, even. But when the sun resurfaced at the height of the Siberian cold front in Paris, locals enthusiastically broke free from hibernation to bask in the fleeting rays and hit the temporary ice skating rink in front of Hôtel de Ville.
It was during this time that I was meant to be catching up over hot cocoa and sweets with my dear friend Susan from Philadelphia, who told me last fall that she’d be returning to Paris just before Valentine’s Day. But between that exciting conversation (I rarely have visitors!) and the new year, she learned she was expecting twins and traveling abroad, understandably, dropped far down the list of priorities.
While she was here, she was planning on organizing a little surprise for her husband for Valentine’s Day. She asked me to coordinate in her absence so on the brightest (and most arctic) Saturday of 2012, my husband and I ventured to the Pont des Arts, a 19th century foot-bridge best known for the engraved padlocks that adorn its railings. In 2010, the city vowed to remove over 2,000 padlocks which…
