Just a quick post for now on my third day in Paris (Tuesday 7/18). I’ll try to post more later, including pics.
I decided Monday night to start my day Tuesday by eating petit déjeuner in my hotel room using room service. Good choice, the breakfast arrived at the requested time, and included two croissants, one with bits of chocolate, two other types of breakfast rolls, juice, coffee, yogurt, and jam. Quite good, although I am concerned that I continue to load up on the carbs…
Once again good progress was made during work, we found and fixed more issues. I tend to lose track of the time at the office here, and at 7 PM realized I needed to leave, get back to the hotel, and find dinner.
I decided for dinner to try an area in the Rue du Cler neighborhood. Rick Steve’s 2006 Paris guide book highly recommends this area as having many good cafes and bistros.
I think every American tourist in Paris had the same idea last night, every place was packed. I found a table on the sidewalk at one, and the dinner was good… I find watching other Americans to be especially entertaining.
But I want to find someplace off the beaten path. I’ll be soliciting recommendations from my friends and coworkers here.
As I finished dinner I realized the sun was going down, which meant that the time was getting late. Sundown in Paris is around 9:30 PM, and I wanted to get to the Eiffel Tower before it became complete dark. The Rue du Cler neighborhood is just a few blocks from the Eiffel Tower, so I quickly ate, paid my tab (no coffee and dessert this time), and started walking to the tower.
On the way, I passed through the Parc du Champ de Mars, a very large park that is adjoining the Eiffel Tower. Many people were enjoying the evening, having picnics, playing frisbee, couples cuddling, etc. Quite a pleasant place.
As I neared the tower the crowd density increased, and the line for the elevator ride up to the 1st level was quite long. So I opted for the short line to take the stairs up. Good choice, as the exercise was welcome after all the heavy eating I’ve enjoyed the past few days.
I made it to the first level, enjoyed the view for a few minutes, and snapped a few pictures. The sun was almost gone, hopefully the pics are good. I’ll try to check them and post later.
Continued on to the second level, the view is a bit better here. By now it was nearly dark, and since I don’t have a tripod I suspect my pictures won’t be so good.
From this level, the only way to the top is via elevator. I saw a group moving onto one, and quickly joined them. Unfortunately I should have checked the sign, as the elevator doors closed, and we went down, back to level one. Wrong way. I decided that since the first time didn’t take too long, I’d just climb the stairs back up… I didn’t intend to miss my chance to get to the top of the tower.
Back up on level 2, I found the place to buy the ticket to go to the top, found the line, and began waiting. The line was long, and along the way we were sprayed with a mist of water which provided a nice cooling effect. Unfortunately the mist was so strong people were getting soaked. I decided it would be prudent to put my camera under my shirt, afraid it would become damaged. About five minutes before reaching the elevators the mist was turned off, and everyone immediately cheered.
The ride to the top went quickly, and the view is pretty good, although not quite as good probably as during the day. Time was getting late, after midnight, and the line was long to get back down. By the time I made it back to the surface, it was 12:30 AM. The walk back to the hotel took about 20 minutes…
To be continued…