Brooke's Notes: Paris Part Deux

Day 2: Jamie and I had grand plans of waking-up at 8:00, eating a quick breakfast, visiting the Eiffel Tower, and catching the 11:00 a.m. Fat Tire Bike tour. Ha! We didn't roll out of bed until 10:20. That was fine because all schedules are flexible when you are on vaca. Since I don't miss meals, first on my list for Day 2 was breakfast. For the entire trip, Jamie and I stuck with the delicious pastry shops that are all over the city. You can eat like a king for only 3 euros.

Next, we consulted the metro map to plan the best route to the Eiffel Tower. I must say that Jamie and I were great at navigating the Paris metro. In my opinion, it puts the New York Subway, Washington D.C. Metro, and San Francisco BART to shame. Look at it! It is clean, efficient, and has signs that let you know how many minutes until the next train. Warning, the Paris metro stops running between 12:30 a.m. and 5:30 a.m. This fact causes many young Parisians to stay out all night.

Now, I have to be honest, I was a little nervous about seeing the Eiffel Tower in person. I sometimes find that big landmarks can be underwhelming. However, the Eiffel Tower did not disappoint. I loved it.

At the Eiffel Tower we were faced with two choices. Wait in the 1+ line for the elevator or wait in the 20 min line for the stairs. For Jamie, this was easy. In 1998, this girl wanted to climb the stairs to the top of one of the World Trade Towers, but the tour guide would not allow it. I, on the other hand, have no desire to ever walk across the Brooklyn Bridge. However, after a little arm twisting, I agreed to climb the stairs. It wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be. I was fine. There are two platforms that you can go to. I stayed on the first platform, walked around the permitter, and read about the different landmarks you can see. Jamie sprinted to the second platform. Why? Because it was there. Here are some pics from the Eiffel Tower.

View from Platform 1

Me inside the Eiffel Tower

Jamie posing for a future Facebook profile pic

Next, we made a futile effort to catch the 3:00 p.m. Fat Tire tour. According to their website, the tour meets at the South Pillar of the Eiffel Tower. From 2:25 p.m. to 3:15 p.m. Jamie and I searched high and low for the tour. Alas, we never found them. Two days later, we returned to the Eiffel Tower and found the Fat Tire tour guide immediately. I have no idea what happened on Friday.

We were beat down after our failure, so we went in search of food. Look at what we found. This picture does not do the meal justice. It was delicious. I ate the dessert first :) You can also see from the picture that I ordered a Minute Maid orange drink. On this trip I was all about the orange sodas. There were Orangina Citrus Drink ads everywhere. My mind is so weak.

Lunch at a bistro near the Eiffel Tower

Next, we went to the Pantheon. All of the really important people in France are buried there. I saw the graves of Victor Hugo and Marie Currie. On our way back to the hotel we stopped by Notre-Dame. I was amazed at the work that went into building the cathedral. We arrived just before 6:00 p.m. A Mass was being held while we walked around. That was interesting. Jamie and I went out to dinner in the Marais district, in particular Rue Vielle Du Temple. Here are a few more pics from Day 2: