Okay, so I wrote about Sunday yesterday (Sunday night) but unfortunately the blogger app ate that chunk of writing... two times. Avoiding the pain of writing it the third time, I decided to break it up and write it here and post Monday’s adventure separately.
Sunday
Today was the big day! I booked a time stamped ticket for the Eiffel Tower but wanted to get there early so I could walk to the Trodecero Place and walk across Pont D’Ilena, to recreate the photo my father had of him nearly 30 years ago.
At first it seemed like I chose the wrong day — there was a women’s road race which had just begun as I got to the edge of the plaza overlooking the the bridge and the Eiffel Tower. The race started under the tower, which seems pretty freaking cool if you are a runner. But as a tourist, the entire area was blocked off in complicated fences. I had to walk down the river and cross a different bridge. Unfortunate, but luckily I left early enough so I had time and walked. I took a bunch of photos of the tower from a distance.
I grabbed a quick coffee and croissant at a cafe just a few streets away from the area and watched the road race for a bit to kill time. Some SOs and kids ran alongside their mom/partner for a bit in support, which I thought was cute.
Soon, it was time. I got to the line and, thanks to my ticket, got in quick. Seems that everyone in Paris buys tickets on the spot rather than online. If you go to Paris, save yourself the headache! I bought my ticket up to two days before actually going, so doing it last minute is very possible.
And I’m in, and very much underneath the tower. The size kinda blew me away seeing it for the first time. I can only imagine seeing this when it first opened.
I went to the north side lift and went up to the 2nd “floor”. I missed out by one day being able to get to the top, but I leave for Portugal on Tuesday! I figured that was okay and would save the trip to the top for the future with someone special.
Going up the lift was magical because you could see the insides of the tower and the mechanical lift engineering. The view was beautiful. Even if it’s considered the second floor, I’m already high above the city, higher than I thought it would be! Definitely worth it.
Hey it’s me again.
I loitered around snapping photos for a good twenty minutes and enjoyed the view and the breeze, and of course the sun and blue skies. I saw the the race was ending and that they were collapsing the fences around the Pont d’Iena bridge which meant I could walk on the bridge.
Eventually I got back down and headed to the exit. I walked on the bridge and looked for the spot my dad stood nearly 30 years ago. Took a few practice shots to find the right angle and waited for a few minutes to see a friendly face that looks like they could speak English. It was awkward standing around and I wished in that moment I had a friend with me. But eventually I found a nice couple who were more than willing to take photos for the sake of recreating it. I didn’t want to bother them on their vacation so I didn’t ask for repeats, but what they got was pretty good!
Awkward posing! Don’t know how my dad does it.
I will probably return here one day and recreate it again, maybe even during the same season!
I headed back to the hotel for a quick chill out to rest my feet and soon went back out. I headed to the first arrondissement to a certain street I googled that was apparently known for shopping, but turned out to be more for food. Which was fine since I needed dinner eventually anyway. I ended up getting one of the best fresco panini ever.
In this area, I passed by the Fontaine des Innocents. It is a monument as a reminder from when the entire plaza was a mass graveyard. People buried their dead here and at one point, it just got so full people dumped their dead corpses and left them there for the gravediggers to deal with. It was so bad that when it rain, the corpses floated up from their shallow graves. Eventually they were exhumed and moved to the catacombs. A bit surreal standing there now watching people relaxing and eat or drink.
I spent the rest of the evening walking around, checking out the St. Germaine church, and getting that best panini ever while watching two guys next to me, also eating pizza and strumming on their ukulele and singing. They weren’t bad. And it wasn’t a bad last true evening in Paris.
Honestly, I was kind of hating people after the Eiffel Tower visit. I knew tourism would be busy in Paris, but was surprised how quickly tired of it I got. Luckily, I had a full day planned to leave the city, which was planned before I came to France. Pat on back for me for having hindsight. Hoping that the distance to a small town would do me some good and relax a bit before my next destination to Lisbon on Tuesday.
I left the city an hour and a half by trains (one metro, and one suburban) to the medieval town of Provins.
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