For most of my life, growing up outside of Europe, Paris had a mystical air to it. All the grownups around me would talk about it as if it were on a different planet, and it may as well have been. For it was so far away, and even the mere thought of going there never crossed my mind, the same way the thought to go to Mars never crossed a Parisian's mind. They would go on and on about how it's the city of love, the beauty of its architecture, the people being stylish, the food, and most importantly, the Eiffel Tower. That was the ace up their sleeve whenever someone would question an auntie's love for Paris, they would say "but you must see the Eiffel Tower at least once in your life, it's one of the seven wonders of the world!" I didn't care for the any of that as a kid, Eiffel Tower or not, I just wanted to play outside. It was not until many years after I was a kid that I saw Paris in from a completely different perspective after a friend had suggested that I should watch Midnight in Paris. I thought it would just be another film where it's a love story, but it's in Paris so it's much deeper than that, and then it would end on a bittersweet note. I could not have been any further from the truth. Out of all the types of movies I expected it to be, I did not think it would be a time travel film. And don't get me wrong, it's not just "a time travel film" it's so much more, if you've seen it you know what I'm talking about, and if you haven't, this is your sign to do so. I remember after watching the film i thought to myself, damn, maybe I misunderstood what Paris is all about. In the film, Gil (Owen Wilson) is looking for inspiration to write his first novel book, he feels misunderstood, and at times belittled by those closest to him. so the city gives him what he needed in the most unexpected way. And in a similar unexpected way, I found myself wanting to explore the city, it all clicked, why people in my childhood where so obsessed. Again, time passed, and I was 19 and on my way to Luxembourg, my new home, and next door neighbor of Paris. But being so busy with my new life, the thought of visiting did not occur to me. That was until last summer, when my girlfriend suggested that we could go there, and all these pieces finally fell into place, the aunties dreams, Woody Allen's vision, I could finally see and decide for myself. Today, this version of me knows that the Eiffel Tower was never a wonder of the world, but it only took a few seconds after seeing it to stand in total wonder.