Off to the Eiffel Tower!

Actually got to sleep in this morning!  The nice apartment that we are staying at had really nice shutters that automatically come down and close up tight and dark.  I still kept my eye mask handy because I did NOT want to be up at 5 a.m.  It worked!  Slept in til 8:30!!  But, it was a late night and I needed to catch up.  So, Diane and Brian went out early and had a cup of coffee while David and I finished getting ready. Then we went out to find a cafe to have a coffee and some breakfast.  We walked around our our neighborhood and saw some lovely open air fresh produce stands.  Soon, we

found a cafe that was very busy on a corner so we pegged that as the one we wanted.  Looked at a couple of souvenir shops and then went to the cafe.  It was wonderful to literally be sitting at a cafe in Paris, just watching the people who were at the restaurant, as well as those who were passing by on the street. We had an amazing server who was fast and efficient.  We ordered coffees, and an omelette for the girls, and crepes for the guys.  Delicious!  Then we were off to the Eiffel Tower!

We took the subway, as usual, and walked on out towards the tower.  We were talking away, and rounded a corner and then we were suddenly all absolutely silent.  We were able to get our first view of the tower and were speechless.  So surreal to actually be standing in the shadow of this iconic landmark.  I've waited my whole life to see this tower and was absolutely NOT disappointed.  We decided to book a tour because all of the online tickets were sold out.  We met with our group at 1:30 and got our tickets.  At 1:45 everyone had gathered and we set off for the tower.  Our guide was a nice guy who was very knowledgeable about the tower and the surrounding area.  Because we were a part of a tour, we were able to totally pass up hundreds of people who were standing in a looooonnnngg line waiting to get on a life (elevator).



  Our pass was totally worth it!  So we skipped up to the front of the line, and had to go through security, (which was comforting to see) and then got in line and got on our lift.  We arrived at the second level of the tower and got to walk around just a bit before we bought our tickets to go to the summit, or top level.  After listening to our guide for a bit, we decided to go for the top while it was still open.  We heard that sometimes they close the top, and did not want to miss our chance!  Rode another elevator slowly up, up, up to the top.  We were sooooooo high it was mind boggling.  WOW. We walked around the top level, and purchased some champagne to do a once in a lifetime toast on the top of the world.  What an amazing moment in our lives, and it will never be forgotten.

 Stayed on the tower for about 90 minutes, taking in the incredible sights on every side of the tower.  When we were finally done looking, AND chilled to the bone (there was COLD wind blowing the entire time that we were up there) we rode a lift down to the second level and then WALKED down from the second level to the bottom floor!  Our calves were burning!  lol  What a great workout.
Then we were off to the Metro again to head to place to eat for lunch.  We were searching for a special restaurant that had been recommended for us, but had a hard time finding it and ended up at another place.  But, we found a good one, and had a beer and shared a margarita pizza.

After that we walked some more and went on to find the Arc de Triomphe.  This arch was build in commemoration of the triumph of winning World War 1.  What an amazing site and we took in the area and all of the people who were also viewing this magnificent structure.  We decided not to go to the top of the arch, which was a possibility.  Walked some more, and back to the Metro.

Then off to the Grand Palais (palace).  This was a massive building that was a  theatre for singers and performers.  We also saw a bridge that was given to Paris as a gift.  There were intricate gold (real gold originally, then replaced with brass because of vandals) statues on each of the four corners of the bridge.  Absolutely breath taking to see.  The Seine River was swollen from all of the raining, and was flooding over many buildings that were lower near the river's edge.  No boats were running tours along the Seine, due to the flooding, and the inability of them to get under the bridges.  As we were returning down the other side of the street, we came across a statue of Winston Churchhill (who Brian is really interested in).  After that we headed back to the Metro and headed home.

Arrived home after walking almost 10 MILES!!!!! Yes, our legs are ready to fall off.  I hope we can walk to our train stop tomorrow.  lol.  But, before we went home, we KNEW we had to do our shopping for dinner and anything else we needed before tomorrow.  So we did!  The guys bought sausage, salad, fruit, and wine for us for dinner.  Diane and I tried to find a last few souvenirs.  Got back to our place, had dinner and some delectable desserts. We had an wonderful lemon meringue tart, and a strawberry and cream filing tart along with a glass of French champagne.
OH my, we are going to gain some pounds here!  But...  so well worth it!   We have to hit the sack early tonight as we have to be out of here by 7:30 a.m. to catch a train to Frankfort.  So, au revoir from Paris for the last time...