They were finally here. Paris.
The city flew by, as Noora and William both looked out through the cab's clear windows. They saw all kinds of old building, Parisian's make their way to work and elegant women having a cup of coffee by the many street corner-cafés. They'd taken off from Oslo airport at about 5 in the morning, meaning they landed at 7 in Paris, Charle De Gaule Airport. It was 7.45 by now, as the cabdriver finally pulled over. This meant that they'd arrived. Both felt the early morning sun hit their skin, as the emerged from the darkness of the cab, and took in the fresh air. Soon enough, they'd gotten their luggage out and were checked in to their new home for the next week.
"William... You said we were just getting a simple room," Noora said, in pure awe as she walked into their room for the first time. What was in front of her was simply, if not more than, magnificent. The room was pretty big - bigger than their bedroom at home, to say the least - and had a huge, antique floor-to-ceiling window. This also worked as a door, accessing their little, personal terrace. Framing these windows were huge, white curtains. When these were drawn aside, they revealed the majestic view of the Eiffel tower. This was what caught Noora's eyes at first. The rest of the room was decorated with ancient, wooden furniture; a bed, bedside tables on the right hand, and a small desk with a chair to their left. In between the terrace door and the desk, a white door with a golden pattern held access to the bathroom. The floor was beautiful, shiny wood as well, complimenting the walls covered in white, flawless paint.
"This is simple," he answered, dropping his suitcase before wrapping his arms around her from behind.
Speechless, Noora let out a laugh before managing to collect her thoughts. "This is simple to you? Either I have really low standards or I'm just really poor."
"No, neither," he pecked the hair covering her ear. "You're just modest, which is not always a bad thing... You deserve this, Noora. I'm happy to give you this experience with me."
"There is no way in hell that I'm letting you pay for this all by yourself!"
"Hush hush. You're not paying anything. Consider it a graduation gift from me."
"But, Will-"
He spun her around, cutting her off by looking right into her eyes.
"Noora," a pause. "You've worked so hard these past 3 years. Allow yourself to enjoy this and don't worry about money. I want to pay this. Okay? Be chill."
Once again, Noora didn't know what to say. This resulted in her grabbing his pretty face and kissing it. More than just once.
"I love you."
He smiled, gently bopping the tip of her nose," I love you too. Now let's unpack, then take a nap and then get the adventure started!"
Since they'd been up since 3 AM, having a hard time sleeping on the plane, Noora and William immediately passed out as soon as they hit the mattress of the hotel's kingsize bed. Content and exhausted, they fell asleep in each other's arms, only waking up a few hours later at the sound of cars honking and birds chirping. William was the first one to wake up, Noora lying on his stretched out arm, making it hard for him to move. Considering all odds, he managed to reach his phone on the bedside table to check the clock. He then rolled back to face Noora, pressing a kiss to her forehead.
"Noora? It's 11. Want to get up?" He whispered.
Her tired body moved a bit, telling him that she was awake but not entirely.
"If we weren't in Paris then no," she started stretching, allowing him to remove his arm from beneath her. "But I want to embrace every second that we're here."
He smiled, loving the positive attitude she had. This trip meant so much to him, and watching her beam with joy made his heart want to explode. Noora pushed herself up, making her sit on the edge of the bed. She frowned.
"I'm starving."
William, who'd already gotten up entirely, grabbed the room key, his wallet and phone, not wasting a second. "Me too. Let's go then. There's probably a café nearby, where we can get a croissant." He bowed down to put on his shoes.
Noora laughed at the the exaggerated french pronunciation of the last word, before she got up and put on her shoes. Everything she needed was already in her famous, black leather-backpack. And William was indeed right. Barely allowing them to make their way down to the main street, they walked by a little, but cute café. Being too hungry to look further, they both got a seat outside in the sun, allowing them to look at the scenery as they ate their famous, french pastries and sipped on their warm beverages; black coffee and hot chocolate.
"Mmmm," Noora closed her eyes as she let out a sound of pleasure. "It's true what they say," she continued, holding up the croissant as to emphasize her point. "Croissants are way better in France."
William laughed at her statement, shaking his head. "Of course they are. What you eat in Norway is some frozen dritt made in some polluting fabric."
Though she couldn't do anything but smile, she was in Paris after all, Noora rolled her green eyes at his smart-ass comment. She knew he was right though. The croissants in Norway were probably as authentic as William's french accent when he pronounced the word to the Parisian waiter. They quickly dropped the matter, enjoying the other's presence as they enjoyed the small meal. For the rest of the breakfast they quickly planned out, what to do and what to see. Quickly agreeing on the Eiffel Tower and L'arc de Triumph, they paid the waiter and skipped off.
It was noon by now, and people were heading off to get lunch, which was perfect for the two lovers - more people eating, less people waiting in line for the Eiffel Tower.
"How long do you think we'll have to stand in line?"
Noora asked, as she looked at the line, while William bought their tickets. He shrugged, putting the tickets in his wallet as they entered the queue. "It seems to be moving pretty quickly, so if we're lucky," he interrupted himself in order to wrap his arms around her waist and kiss her temple, "not too damn long."
The queue was long. Very long. Summer vacation in Paris was apparently very popular, and so was the grand Eiffel Tower, that shot up in the middle of the city like majestic national symbol. Noora and William were never the ones to complain about spending time together, but 2 hours of standing in line seemed to push the limits of 'simply enjoying the other's presence'. But eventually, they got through the waiting time and rose to the top of the iron tower. Besides constantly flirting with Noora, like she wasn't his just yet, they had the typical Eiffel-experience; getting their hair blown in all the directions possible, countless selfies and observing the sunlit city beneath them.
After their adventure to the top of the city, they decided that they were both starving and needed a late lunch. Quickly finding a little bakery with delicious sandwiches made with crunchy baguette, they each ordered one and decided to walk around as they ate it. It was the perfect day in the sun, and by the time they'd had dinner and were back at the hotel, they were both exhausted. They quickly got ready for bed, posted some pictures on Instagram and called it a day with a quick kiss. Romance and a full day's planning would have to wait till tomorrow.