Today was one of the best days in recent memory. I might not want to live in Paris, but it sure is a great place to visit.
We woke up refreshed and ready for our first day in Paris, and started the morning with a long and scenic walk from the hostel in Monmarte to the Arch of Victory. It took us about an hour to get there, but we stumbled across a beautiful park on the way, which ended up being a short cut as well. Oh, happy fault :)
[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="604" caption="Park we stumbled into"]
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After exploring the Arch we caught our second fabulous Open Top Tour Bus. We went with the Les Cars Rouges because they had the cheaper ticket price, and our 24 euro ticket was good for two days. Les Cars Rouges has fewer stops than some of the other tours available in Paris, but it made for a more smooth bus ride, and everywhere we wanted to go was accessible on their bus route. We round around for a complete loop, about two and half hours, catching our first view of the Eiffel Tower on the way. After the full loop we stayed on until we got back to the Trocadero, where we disembarked for more exploring.
[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="453" caption="First view of the Eiffel Tower through the Trocadero"]
[/caption]The Trocadero is named after a French military victory, in Spain, I believe, and it offers one of the best views of the Eiffel Tower in the city. We stopped at a small café called Café Trocadero for lunch and we were not disappointed. It was a bit expensive, about 16 euro for an entrée, but it was about 2:30 in the afternoon and we knew it would probably be our last real meal of the day before returning to peanut butter pita sandwiches back at the hostel late tonight. And it was absolutely worth every penny. I ordered salmon, which was divine, and John ordered roasted chicken, which came with fries. Let me tell you, there’s a reason they call them “french fries”—The French definitely do them best.
After lunch we walked to the Eiffel Tower, which looks much more industrial than I was expecting. It’s funny to see something you’ve only seen pictures of; it always looks exactly like the pictures, but different somehow too.
[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="604" caption="Under the Tower"]
[/caption]The whole area around the Tower is full of street vendors selling tiny Eiffel Tower key chains and statues, and they required a forcible “No” in order to leave us alone. John and I reemployed a tactic we had started using earlier with gypsies in the train station and on the way to the Sacre-Coeur: we pretended we only spoke German. A quick “Nein, danke” usually did the trick.
After much indecision, we decided to go up to the top of the Tower. The indecision wasn’t really about whether to go up or not but more about the method. John wanted to walk. I wanted to ride. Classic problem.
In the end we decided to walk, but then we got to the ticket window and found out that the particular line we were in was only for the elevators. How sad.
By the first level I was nervous, but the second I was scared, and on the third, and top, level I was absolutely petrified. I was just waiting to feel the tower move in the wind, which thankfully it did not. In retrospect I am so glad I did it. The view was absolutely breathtaking. On of the most distinct things about Paris is how unified the aesthetic is, and the top of the Tower was the perfect place to see it.
[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="604" caption="View from the second tier of the Tower, the building on the hill is the Sacre-Coeur"]
[/caption][caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="720" caption="View from the Tower"]
[/caption][caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="720" caption="And this was the view from the very top... Yikes!"]
[/caption]It was close to 6pm by the time we came down and we were bushed. We caught a subway back to Monmarte and shopped for Paris souvenirs up and down the street that leads to the Sacre-Coeur. I was in my prime indecisive form and it took me quite awhile to decide what I wanted, but I ended up with some beautiful mini posters of vintage style French prints and a scarf which, very subtly, features pictures of the Sacre-Coeur, Eiffel Tower, Arch of Triumph, and Notre Dame. I strongly dislike shameless souvenirs that scream “I WENT HERE,” but I also like things I buy to have some significance, so the scarf was perfect. You can’t see the pictures when it is wrapped around my neck, but I know they’re there. Perfect.
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