Today was amazing.
It began early. We were all up at 6:30. Two hours later (I don't know why it takes so long to get going in the morning) we were on our way to the Eiffel Tower.
Yesterday I asked the lady in the information booth how to avoid lines. She said "get here before 9:00" I said, "what time do you open?" She said 9:30. So, we aimed to be there at 9:00 (or earlier) as she suggested.
Our walk to the tower was filled with excitement. The tower played peek-a-boo with us as we walked there. Now we could see it, now we couldn't -as we walked around buildings, down streets - it came into and out of our view. Sometimes we could see the tip of it - other times even more. At one point we walked towards it but came upon a large building that was in our way. We had to go around the building. It was like a treasure hunt to a gigantic towering treasure.
We made it. We walked up the park that leads to the tower. The park is grassy, with trees on either side. It frames the tower in all its glory. A lot of people were taking pictures of themselves with the tower. Not us. We were mission oriented: get there early to avoid long lines!
The lines can be 2 hours long just to get a ticket. And we witnessed that yesterday when we stopped by. So when we got there and saw our line we were pleased. Dan and Julia stood in line while SAra and I had a picnic under the tower on a bench --- how often do you picnic under the Eiffel tower? We had baguette and "pain de chocolate," and water to drink. It was like a feast with a golden (or brown in this case) view.
When the line started moving we knew it was 9:30 since the ticket office opened. We had tickets and were going in at 9:58. A perfect start to our visit.
Dan had Julia in the Kelty back-carrier, which we had already verified would be okay (large back-packs are not allowed). We got right through security, but someone else with a large back pack was questioned a lot. He stayed calm though, and the guard eventually checked the bag and let him go up the tower. It was a great lesson to remain calm and hope that someone will be kind even if what you are trying to do is bending the rules a bit. (We were fine, it was the other person with a larger back pack that was stopped by security.)
The first thing you do is line up for the elevator. It didn't take long. We got on the first one. It wasn't even that full. The elevator rose up. Diagonally. The legs of the Eiffel tower are on a slant. Sara loved it, but she was pressed against me (for security?) and she also had a firm grip on a small ball she was carrying (that we bought at the Disney store here in Paris). Zip. The elevator ride was smooth. We savored it - we looked all around the city as everything got smaller as we rose higher.
Stepping off the elevator onto the second level (the first level is being renovated) with Sara holding my hand swept me away with awe. It was a bright sunny morning so just stepping outside onto the platform made us feel like sun flowers opening up on a sunny day -- and the bit of a breeze (I was surprised it wasn't super windy up there) blew our hair back out of our faces so there was nothing to hinder our view of Paris in all its grandeur -- just Paris -- stretching as far as we could see -- until the Earth met the sky.
I said "you did it! You are up on the Eiffel tower Sara!" -- she smiled. A real smile. I was smiling too. A real smile. We weren't walking on the platform, we were walking on air for those first few steps.
As we took in the view we both craned our heads up. There was the rest of the tower - all the way up to the tip. "Do you want to go up there now?" I asked. "Yes" Sara answered. So we all got in the line to go to the summit.
The line was quick - another benefit of going so early. When we got off at the top we immediately walked up the last few stairs to get as high as we could go. Whao. I remember going up in the tower the last time we were in Paris, but I remember it being windy. Thankfully, it wasn't windy. Especially on the side where we stayed for a while. As we circumnavigated the top it was breezy on one of the sides. Sara didn't like it to be windy (can't say I blame her) so we stayed on the other side.
The tower is 324 meters high (1,063 feet). We were up high, but I must say that the tower is not scary at all. There is no feeling like you may fall. You can just enjoy the view and not feel skid-dish. We were up there for probably 45 minutes. Julia was perfectly great. She just let her hair blow in the breeze as she looked around and ate her baguette. We had dozens of people comment on how cute and how good she was. Things like "she has the best seat in the house!" "she has a great view" "she sure likes that baguette" "you should get a picture of her!" We smiled at all the comments even though we have heard them all before. ;)
Sara enjoyed the telescopes that allowed you to look closer at the view. She stood up on their podiums and made them sway to where she wanted to look. It was great being up there with a kid - kids just have such fresh view points on everything. She was wearing her Eiffel tower stockings (white with gold Eiffel towers on them that I got before we left home) and her Eiffel tower skirt (also, amazingly found at home) and so every fiber of her was happy to be there. While we were on the top Julia kept pointing at things - as if to say "look over there!" we thought that was funny.
Finally we decided it was time to start our decent. We took one last look at Eiffel and Thomas Edison in Gustuv Eiffel's office (mannequins) and we started back down towards Earth.
Our elevator took us to the second floor. We looked around, and then decided to head down to the first floor. We got in line for the elevator, but it didn't move (at all!) so we decided to take the stairs. Great choice! I'd suggest everyone take the stairs down. You get to step right into the legs of the tower - and you get to pass all the people walking 'up' the tower -- and be glad that you took the elevator up and are now going down! But really, being right in the metal workings of the tower legs makes you want to pause on every step just to look down, out, and up! And we did do that a lot! Sara was great. She enjoyed the stairs down - and took them with the energy of a kid.
Once we got to hte first floor I remembered that the restaurant in the tower opened for lunch at 11:30 "first come first served." The restaurants are hard to get into so we decided to give it a shot as it was 11:28. I'm happy to say that by 11:32 we had a window table, in the restaurant in the Eiffel tower -- WOW! Lucky day!
They had a kid menu, so Sara got a drink, appetizer, meal, and dessert for one set price (12.50). She had apple juice, fresh mozzarella with cherry tomatoes still on the vine, pasta with butter sauce, and a chocolate cake in the shape of the Eiffel tower! What a great kid's meal! (It was enough to feed Julia also)
http://www.restaurants-toureiffel.com/UK/EIFFEL-TOWER-RESTAURANTS/58-TOUR-EIFFEL/Dinner-in-paris-eiffel-tower.html
I had roasted chicken/mashed potatoes, and Dan had some sort of ham/pasta. It was all good. And, as a major plus, the girls had perfect manners - so we all relaxed - and enjoyed the view and meal in Grand Style. It was a pinch me am I dreaming experience!
After that we walked the rest of the way down the tower. All the way back down the Earth. We walked away from the tower and onto the pebbly path of the park with out saying a word. We were all still digesting the experience of going up in the tower and digesting our wonderful meal.
After a few paces Sara asked if she could have the treat we bought at the bakery earlier. That kid! Julia was asleep at the time (she fell asleep in the Kelty on the way down the stairs) so I didn't want to go in the back zipper pocket of the Kelty to get the bakery treat - since I didn't want to wake Julia up! But I did get it out. And SAra and I sat on a bench - in the park near the tower - and ate that treat. She looked me right in the eye while we were eating it and her eyes twinkled. I took a mental snapshot of how happy she was so I could keep it always.
After that treat we all walked over to Rue Cler.
Rue Cler is a street in Paris that has a walking tour in our guide book. It is loaded with special bakeries, stores, fresh market food, cafes, no cars, and we just loved it. After being in all the small villages on this trip, and then being in Paris for a few days, it was a little slice of "village" life right here in Paris. A highlight of the street Rue Cler for Sara was seeing a huge eclair decoration that was longer than she is - and she got to play on it. The smiles she flashed while playing on that gigantic eclair were priceless. I wish I could capture one of those megawatt smiles on camera!
While visiting "Rue Cler" we decided to get some ice cream and coffee at one of the cafes. Sara got an icecream cone that looked like a flower (due to the shape of the scoops) and Julia got her own cone -- free! Dan and I both got coffee.
At one point as we were sitting enjoying or ice cream and coffee Sara was on Dan's lap. Julia reached out with her spoon to get some of Sara's ice cream. Sara said, "Dad, I have to go other there now to share my ice cream with Julia" and Sara hopped off Dan's lap and came over to Julia (who was on my lap) and let Julia have as much a she wanted from her (Sara's) cone. I was so proud.
We finished up our icecream and coffee (Sara gave Julia the last bit of her cone how nice) and walked back to the apartment. It was about 4:00.
Dan began telecommuting and so I went out into Paris with Sara and Julia. We went to a park near the Rodin museum, where they had the best time playing in a playground with a sand box - with some French kids (who spoke English and French). They had an English nanny, so I talked to the nanny - she gave me tips for being in Paris with kids - while the kids played. It was like a story book it was so pleasant.
We came back here around 6:20 after a quick stop in a grocery market for salad stuff. I made dinner (lasagne from Rue Cler) and we ate 'till we were happily full. The girls played, then Julia went to sleep. Sara played with Lego (making a long boat that was actually very clever) and she also pained a picture of the Eiffel Tower (great job Sara). We bought water color paints and art paper early in the trip, so our France souvenirs will be art done by Sara and Julia over the last several weeks. Many of the pictures are fun to look at!
It was a great day. Totally Paris magic.
Quotes of the day:
Scenario: Right after the Eiffel tower visit
Sara: "That's the tower we enjoyed!"
--
Scenario: walking away from the Eiffel tower
Me: "Sara pause of a moment so I can get a picture of you with the tower."
Sara: "What tower? That one?"
--
Scenario: walking around Paris
Sara: "How long are we here?"
Me: "6 sleeps"
Sara: "Next time we come to Paris, we should stay 15 sleeps."
Me: "Why?"
Sara: "Because 15 sleeps is more than 6 sleeps."
End of Post
[We walked 17,632 steps today. 7.70 miles. Sara easily walked 5 (or more) miles today.]
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