Fortunately we had a patisserie--La Brioche Doree--just across the street from our hotel. And my love for pain au chocolat continued. Side note: I had first discovered and enjoyed this luscious pastry at The Bibury Court. There's just something special, though, about savoring it in its native country. For the uninformed, pain au chocolat is a croissant injected with dark chocolate, so you've got the flakiness of the croissant with the delightful chocolate surprise after you take a bite.
One thing I discovered about pastries and desserts in general both in England and France--they are made with far less sugar than we use here in the States. And I never saw any of that sickening sweet icing laced over or covering up a perfectly good confection. Those who know me well have seen me scrape all that sweetness off of any pastry. And icing on cake? Scooping it into the trash before I eat the cake slice is normal. I always shy away from anything fruit-filled, too, because it's way too sweet for my taste. Not so in Paris. With little to no sugar, the fruit's flavor stood front and center. The most difficult thing for me was choosing what I wanted to try next!
After getting our fill, it was off to the metro to complete my wish #2. On our walk from the metro to the Tour Eiffel, there were numerous streetside vendors hawking miniature cheap metal replicas of the Tower. They usually had a blanket laying on the sidewalk, and the blanket was covered with their wares. Again, I should have taken a photo, but they were pushy and I didn't want them to harass me more than they already were.
Finally! We arrived at the pinnacle of my trip to Paris. I wanted to cry, I was that overwhelmed at being there in person.
The structures coming down from the middle to the ground were due to repairs/maintenance--they aren't usually there. Which seemed to be an ongoing theme as I visited various tourist landmarks in England, Paris, and Scotland. If you haven't noticed by now, there are many photos that contain scaffolds of one sort or another. And there will be many more to come.
I'm not savvy enough to get these two photos below to sit side by side on this blog, but if I was, you'd really get the feel of how massive this structure is. For now, use your imagination. Oh, and ignore the guy in the photo on the left--I guess he had an unfortunate itch that had to be scratched while he was publicly visiting a world-renowned landmark. Maybe he was a Bibury duck in a former life.
Amanda shared in a very honest, forthcoming way that she was terrified of heights, so Judith and I would be the only ones ascending the tower. So as not to waste her time waiting for us on the ground, she sauntered on over to the Musee d'Orsay that sits next to the Seine. We all made plans to meet up there when Judith and I were earthbound again.
If you look closely at the four legs of the tower, there are stairs to climb up to the first and second levels. An elevator then goes all the way to the top. Not sure how far up the first level is, but the second level is approximately 337 feet, the equivalent of a thirty-story building. Judith and her family have climbed this more than once. In fact, she had never taken the tram from the ground up to the second level so it was a first experience for both of us. Me, climbing to the second level? Yeah, I could laugh all day at that joke.
We waited in a very long line to buy tickets. Our plan was to go to the very top (around 1000 feet up), but by the time we got close to the ticket window, here's what greeted us. Just above the sign, you can see the two-story red tram that we would ride.
Here's a better photo of the tram making its way up to the second level. There are two levels to the tram because the second level of the tower is made up of two levels, like a main level with a balcony. The tram didn't stop on the first level at all.
I have to admit I was disappointed that we wouldn't get to the top today, but what can you do. We got in the (pack-em-in-like-sardines) tram and rode to the second floor. Before we entered the tram, another sign greeted us. It made more sense after they closed the tram door.
These are the sights that literally took my breath away when we exited the tram.
In the top photo above, guess what that prominent structure is that I zoomed in on. The Sacre Coeur, where we had visited the previous day. Here's an even better close-up. So very thankful for the amazing zoom feature on my camera.
The Tower sits alongside the Seine. This road crossing the river leads right into the Embarcadero. You can see that we're on the "balcony" of the second level.
The Seine as it stretches away from the tower.
You can see the Sacre Coeur on the hill at the horizon. Yeah, it's that teeny tiny blip. This photo was taken with no zoom, so I really appreciated having that feature on the camera.
Proof that I was on the Eiffel Tower. Thanks, Judith, for suggesting and taking this. {{hug}}
On the side opposite the Seine is the area from which most photos of the Tower are taken. Notice the line-up of tiny tourist buses?
And just beyond the tourist buses, eagle-eye Judith noticed a wedding party. But when I zoomed in on it, there were four brides being photographed with husbands (or not). How amazing would that be to have your photo taken in your wedding dress in front of the Eiffel Tower!
Scanning through my zoom lens, something else caught my eye.
My second viewing of the Arc d'Triomphe.
Judith commented that wouldn't it be incredible to live in one of these apartments and have this view to wake up to every single day. I totally agreed.
We didn't get the opportunity to visit Notre Dame Cathedral--too much to see and do in a jam-packed weekend. Next time. I'm glad I was at least able to get this photo of it. Notice that if you were in the air directly above the cathedral, it's in the shape of a cross.
We were getting ready to leave the second level when we saw signs lit and a ticket area for the top that had once again opened. For an additional five or six euros, we could go on up in the elevator from the second level. Unfortunately, I was starving by this time and not feeling well. With regret I had to pass. Just one more reason to head back to Paris in the not-so-distant future. We hopped back on the tram and headed to the Musee d'Orsay to meet up with Amanda. But that's another blog post.
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