Eiffel Tower

After seeing as much as Versailles as we could see in one morning, which was a lot, (why would anyone need so many houses?), we headed back into town to go to the Eiffel Tower. Upon arriving, once again, we were awe-struck by the majesty of such a recognize-able monument. We took photos and then were dampened by a few drops of rain, so we decided to wait for perfect weather before going to the top.

Sunday we explored a few different areas of town after visiting the Musee d’Orsay, including a beautiful cemetery where Oliver Wilde and Jim Morrison are just a few of the thousands of graves. There was really no grass in the graveyard; instead all of the graves are above ground, right next to one another with barely room to walk in between. Many of the graves had very small chapels built on top of them so that the family could come and worship there. So many crosses, so many chapels, it was perfect for the photographer in me! For those of you who have visited cemeteries in New Orleans, it reminded me of those.

Sunday afternoon, under a blue sky, we made our way back to the Eiffel Tower. We stood in a very long line, but we noticed later that it was even longer, so we didn’t feel too bad! We got tickets that would permit our entry all the way to the top of the tower. We rode an elevator to the second level of the Eiffel Tower, which is already above the tops of the trees and the buildings, quite the view. From there, we stood in another line that took us to the very top of the tower in a small elevator. The top level actually had two levels, one was enclosed and showed where some important monuments in Paris were as well as distances to cities around the world. But the very top level of the Eiffel Tower was open, of course with a fence. You could see the City of Lights as it continued on for miles. Incredible! There was even a restroom on the top! So of course, we all used it, just so that we could say we went to the restroom at the top of the Eiffel Tower!

We went back down, and after standing under the majesty of the steel creation for a while, we had dinner nearby. Of course I enjoyed my favorite meal of a salad with small pieces of toast and hot goat cheese on top. Thankfully we have walked so much, that I hope all the cheese is not catching up with me!

After dinner, we went back over to the tower to wait in high expectation for it to light up. We knew that the tower was lit at sunset, but as it is still rather light at 10:30 or 11, we were unsure of exactly when that would be. The lights came on about 9 or 9:30 and lit up the tower as the sun sank in the sky. Then, at 9:45, the tower began twinkling, flashing with lights all over it for a fully fifteen minutes. I felt like a kid on the fourth of July watching the fireworks! I was so in awe!

Monday morning we went to Napoleon’s tomb. As you can only imagine, it is surrounded by grandeur. His tomb is in the center of a grand cathedral that is covered by gold leaf. It is a beautiful cathedral, as all here seem to be. In the very center sits a huge tomb. We all had to stop and wonder as we knew that Napoleon was a small man. It made more since though when we learned that he was actually encased the 4-5 different caskets inside the tomb.

We went to a nice lunch at the Café at Musee l’Hommes which as a perfect few of the Eiffel Tower and enjoyed the blue sky that surrounded the tower.

We intended on visiting the Catacombs of the city that afternoon, but we forgot that they were closed on Mondays. We went to the Opera House, but it was not really open for tours. However, we did get to see how large this home to the Phantom of the Opera actually was.

To complete Melissa’s last day in Paris, we bought fancy pastries and sat in Luxembourg Gardens enjoyed the beautiful weather, the delicious goodies, people watching and each other’s company. We must have sat there for hours, just taking in all that we could that the city and her people had to give us. It was a perfect afternoon.

After Melissa’s departure Tuesday morning we went to Saint Chapelle, a chapel on the Ile de Cite, not far from Notre Dame. We had all heard wonderful things about it and had tried two times before to visit. Once it was closed, once the line was too long. I was very upset to find that the chapel was closed on Tuesday, so sadly, I had to leave the City of Lights without seeing the chapel. I guess that just means that I will have to return again.

The rest of the day, we enjoyed doing some tourist shopping, a boat ride along the Seine, some delicious ice cream and our last few moments in the city. We all enjoyed Paris, but I believe all of us were ready to head to the next city on our list.

I will say, that one of the things I was most proud of in Paris was how we conquered the Metro! Thanks to our tour guide, who explained how things we worked, we enjoyed taking the Metro everyday! It got us from place to place much quicker, it was easy to use, convenient and a way to feel like a local! I am so impressed with subway systems, throughout the world. Just the thought of constructing all of those giant tunnels underground baffles me. When you visit Paris, make sure to get to know the Metro, it is well worth it.

Speaking of the Metro, I wish you all could have seen us traveling the Metro with our luggage. After sticking your ticket through the machine, a narrow door opens only briefly for you to walk through and then closes before anyone else can sneak through. I did not get my suitcase through quick enough and so it got stuck half-way through! Luckily, a kind Parisian came up after me and realized what was going on. So, she put her ticket through the machine, I pulled my luggage leaving enough time for her to make it through as well. Then we had to go down several series of steps with our rolling suitcases, serenading our fellow Metro-riders with beautiful sounds! We did make it onto the Metro and besides taking up most of the open space, the rest of the trip was relatively uneventful!

When planning how we were going to get on the Metro with our luggage, we were worried, because many of the Metro entry places have those spinning wheels. Those sideways-tripod looking wheels that let just one person through at a time, like lines at Six Flags. Well, if you think about, how are you supposed to get a giant suitcase through that?

After we made it onto our train, we had to lift, yes, we three young ladies lifted our 50-pound suitcases not only onto the train, but then above our heads to the shelf in our Harry Potter-like seats! Part of me wishes we had had another companion just to video tape our adventure, part of me is very glad though that it was not caught on tape!
And that was Paris… I only shared a VERY small portion of my 800 pictures on this blog. When I return home, I will put my pictures up on the web and make sure to share those with you. I enjoyed Paris, and I see why people believe they are wearing rose-colored glasses while visiting the city.