Tuesday, May 13, 2008

Paris Day 7

Another jam-packed day with tons of walking! My feet are killing me!

First, we headed over to the Eiffel tower to finally climb that sucker. I am terrified of heights, so this was not something I was really looking forward to, but SB was dead set on it so, chin up, away we went.

To get to the very top of the tower, you buy your tickets on the ground, take an elevator to the second floor, get out, wait in another line then take another elevator to the top.

We waited in line for our tickets for about 20 minutes, which I think is pretty reasonable. While in line, the signs said that access to the top was temporarily closed because it was full - we asked the lady at the info desk and she said it will usually stay closed for about half an hour to let it empty out a bit, then they will open back up, and you can buy the ticket to get to the top on the 2nd floor. Well, about two people ahead of us they opened it back up, so we were able to buy our tickets right away, then when we arrived on the 2nd floor there was no line for the 2nd elevator and we went right up without waiting. So good because I do NOT do well in lines!

SB right after they reopened access to the sommet:

At the top we hung out for a while taking in all the different views (SB at the railing, me a few steps back....). It was nice that we didn't go on the first day we arrived because we were able to pick out all the monuments we had already visited without looking on their little guide.


After the tower, we walked over to the Pont d'Alma, which is where Princess Diana died (the tunnel where the accident was is right under the pont).

Then onto the metro back to Montmartre where we had our requisite dinner at McDo - drink sizes are smaller, fries are just as great, burgers just as un-fresh as at home. Oh, and a very weird unisex bathroom.

Lastly, we took a walking tour with New Tours - they are a company that give free tours and you pay what you can. It was really great - the tour we took was specifically Montmartre, and our guide had a degree in Fine Arts specializing in art history so was very passionate about the subject matter. We saw the house where Van Gogh lived, two cafes where he hung out with other artists, and the building where cubism was born, where many artists shared studio space. It was pretty amazing!

On this tour we also saw Sacre Coeur up close, Le Moulin de les Galettes (which is the subject of a famous Renoir painting), and the cafe des Deux Moulins from the movie Amelie. I think we will go back to the cafe - they actually have a great Happy Hour special AND WiFi, so I'm all over that!!!

1 comment:

Jallápenno said...

I am supaire jalouse of you! I'm glad you're having such a good time though. I'll think of you when Willow is wearing her milf shirt. She could totally wear that in Paris.