Post Tour 2: New Heights and Bandes Dessinées
Food and Beverage of the Day
Crepes
Rosé wine from Provence
Practicalities
City: Paris
Weather: Sunny
Hotel: Ibis Bastille
Sights: Eiffel Tower
Latin Quarter
Change
It’s always interesting to me how things change over time, and coming back to a place after a long absence is a good way to see it. Paris is always Paris, and certain things will probably always seem the same – Notre Dame, the Seine, the view of the Eiffel Tower, beautiful Sainte-Chapelle. But other things change.
My first trip to Paris was in 2000, and things were a little different then. You could walk right under the Eiffel Tower. Now there is a security perimeter around it, and you can enter only at certain points after passing through a checkpoint.
We visited the Latin Quarter in 2000 as well because Bill wanted to look at the comic shops, and I remember there being a number of them, all along the same street. Now there is only Album.
We had traveler’s checks on that 2000 trip. And we booked our hotels in advance by faxing from the U.S., not by booking online. You could not buy advance tickets for anything online in those days, and certainly not for the Eiffel Tower. The line for that was just as long as that summer as it is today.
Today we have reserved tickets for the Eiffel Tower, so I'm relieved to look out the window and find that it is a beautiful day, and we should have good views. I was worried about that aspect of booking ahead.
When we leave the hotel and walk over to the main street, Richard-Lenoir, and discover there is a huge market in the large central median. (Apparently the Sunday market is large and well-known, but I didn't know about it). We enjoy poking through and decide to purchase sweet lemon crepes from a vendor for breakfast.
Then it's time to metro over to the Eiffel Tower. This is our third trip to Paris, but we've never managed to do it before. I don't have the patience for a really long no reservations line and haven't managed to get reservations in the past. It's gotten to be ordeal to ascend. You have to go through a security screening to enter the fenced in area under the tower. Then you wait for your time and queue in the much shorter reserved ticket line.
For me the trip is a challenge because I'm afraid of heights, and I attempt to distract myself from thinking about the ascent as we wait in line by listening to the audio tour in the Eiffel Tour app that I have downloaded to my phone. It doesn't work; I'm still terrified, even though the audio tour is good. Nonetheless I force myself to do the elevator up to the second floor. Bill thinks we should wait to do the final leg up to the top, but I tell him if I don't do it right away, I'll psych myself out and not do it at all, so we queue for the final elevator.
Under the Eiffel Tower
Photographic evidence that I made it to the top!
After a while I get used to the height and am able to appreciate the spectacular views (see photo at top of the page). We descend to the second level.
Then we take the stairs down to the first level, and on this level I actually manage to stand on the glass observation floor and look down!
Back on the ground we decide to enjoy the lovely day with a walk to the Latin Quarter along the Seine, so we cross the street and make our way down to the river. As we stroll we spot a ship, and Bill falls in love.
We reach the Latin Quarter and head for Bill's favorite bandes dessinées shop, Album. Bill, the comic book enthusiast, cannot pass up an opportunity for French comic books.
In the evening we have an incredible meal at Les Bougresses, a restaurant recommended by Trish -- yum! The food is accompanied by a nice rosé wine from Provence. We tried it when we visited Arles in 2014 and loved it, such a joy to have it again on a beautiful evening in Paris. The tables are close together, and we chat with a young Australian couple on their honeymoon who are sitting next to us. Hope they have an amazing time!
Paris from the Eiffel Tower