Love in Paris, and the Pont des Arts

Bonjour tout le monde!
If you have been in Paris within the past six years or so, you might have found yourself on the Pont des Arts, which links the Louvre with the 6th arrondissment on the other side of the Seine.  This pedestrian bridge originally dates back to 1804 but was rebuilt in 1985 in steel rather than the weaker cast iron.  Sometime around 2008, lovers and visitors to Paris started "locking in their love" by leaving a lock on the bridge. Bouquinistes lining the sides of the Seine near the bridge started selling locks and providing Sharpie pens for the lovers to inscribe their initials.  Similar love lock bridges exist in New York, Seoul, and London.
Now, it seems, that all this love is negatively affecting the structure of the Pont des Arts bridge.  The bridge is actually buckling under the weight of all those "love locks" that have been attached to the railings.  Now, tourists in love are asked to send  a virtual lock to http://www.lovemasterlock.eu/.  After all, once it's on the Internet, it's really forever!
I must confess that Michael and I have been tempted, but we have never done the lock thing.  What about you?  Have you ever left a lock on a bridge to commemorate your love?  Where?  When?  And, most importantly, are you still together?
Here is the original article:  http://www.bbc.com/travel/feature/20140421-paris-to-tourists-stop-locking-down-love

Love locks on the Ponte Vecchio in Florence

Sur la Table

Bonjour tout le monde!
I love to cook.  For me, being in the kitchen is a sort of therapy.  I find the perfect recipe, which for me usually means not to many steps, go to the grocery store for the ingredients, and then I cook.  I'm pretty good at following directions, which makes recipes great for me.  I have, though, honed the craft of adding little bits of this or that to see how it tastes (no complaints yet).
I think that the process of cutting, boiling, or baking is what I enjoy.  It's just me, the words on the paper (and more commonly now, the computer) and the ingredients on the counter.  I don't have to think about much more, except making sure that whatever I am doing comes out right.  That is the therapy part. And, we eat.
Then, it is on to making my table look beautiful.  When I travel, I love to buy tablecloths and the matching napkins.  They are not only a cool souvenir, they are useful, too.  I use cloth napkins because they are pretty, and because I am not putting more stuff in landfills.  Naturally, after a dinner, I throw everything into the washing machine, the dryer, and then I iron them.  Yeah, I'm anal...
This morning I came across this blog titled "5 Things That Will Make Your Kitchen More Parisian", and I was intrigued.  Would I pass the test?  Do I have it, the Parisian kitchen?
Almost.  I got #1, there is an almost empty bottle of  #2, but I'm going to have to do the lentils, which is an awesome idea.  The finishing salt will have to wait a little bit, but I'm all over the cloth napkins.  Now, for a new butter bell...
How about you?  What's in your kitchen?  And if you have any finishing salt (fleur de sel), where did you get it?

http://food52.com/blog/10278-5-things-that-will-make-your-kitchen-more-parisian

My table - the cloths are French from Provence and Basque (in background).  I made the bread, too.