Sunday, May 30, 2010

Paris - Day 7

Our last full day in Paris was spent catching up on a bit of sleep and seeing everything we hadn't seen yet. Since the sun was out shining in blue skies we headed first to the most famous monument in Paris, the Eiffel Tower.






We made it to the tower in the late morning, after a feeble attempt to get up early was quickly defeated by the desire to lie in bed until 10 am. We expected long lines since it was the weekend and a beautiful day outside, but we were met with a nice surprise of short lines. Maybe it was because the signs said that the top level was "temporarily" closed and that we could only go up to level 2. We weren't thrilled about the notion of not going to the top, but we were satisfied with what we could do. About 40 minutes later, we cramped ourselves into an elevator and rode up to the 2nd level. 


The views were spectacular and you could discern different landmarks around Paris. Jardins du Trocadero.




Arc de Triomphe




However wonderful the views were, we hadn't satisfied our desire for height and that feeling of being on top of the world. So, next time you go to the Eiffel tower, don't believe the signs at the bottom saying the top is closed. If you make it to the 2nd level, they let you buy tickets to the top there and the line was super quick (<5 minutes). So after another short ride in a cramped elevator, we made it to the highest point in Paris. 


Looking down the Seine River. 




View of the Parc du Champ de Mars




My boy!




What a cute couple!




When the coolness and heights had gotten to us, we headed back down to the bottom to fight through the hundreds of Nigerians selling Eiffel Tower souvenirs on keychains. I'm not sure they understand that when I say "no" to the person standing next to them asking me to buy, that I'm not going to say "yes" to them 3 seconds later! We managed to find a spot to get some pretty awesome shots of the Tower from below. 




From the Eiffel Tower we headed to the other most famous spot in Paris, Notre Dame Cathedral. 






And this completed our trip to Paris. The next morning started our last leg of the trip, Nice, France!! Stay tuned for more!

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