Burkarskis Do Europe 2023 - La Tour Eiffel
Overview
| Rating |
🗼🗼🗼🗼🗼 |
|---|---|
| Year Traveled |
2023 |
| Length of Trip |
2 Weeks |
| Locations Visited |
Paris, France |
Usually I’m not too excited for tower-based tourist attractions. I’ve done the World Trade Center, Minolta Tower, CN Tower, Twin Arch 138, Sears Tower (not the observation deck just an event halfway up), Rockefeller Center… I’ve just been on a bunch of towers and I’m not that interested in doing more. EXCEPT—The Eiffel Tower! That one has been on my list forever and it’s one that I definitely had to do on our trip. When we were cashing in those credit card points we saw that we could get Eiffel Tower tickets with a tour and timed reservation so we booked it. Second floor or the summit? Most definitely the top!
Our ticket reservation was for 9:15 AM. And it said to show up 15 minutes early. And we’re bad at mornings. And we’re bad at getting places on time. We looked up transit directions the night before, but the morning commuters made it so that there would be no time savings compared to walking. So, we had to get out the door in order to walk 40 minutes! Also I wore pretty shoes and a lot of these roads are the kinds of cobblestones that are out to destroy my ankles.
We made it on time to check in with our tour group and soon we were being shuffled into a much shorter line than the rest of the crowd to go through security. Our tour guide wanted to keep us engaged and would ask us about specific bits of Eiffel Tower trivia before going through the official spiel about the next set of facts. She asked why the tower was built and what it was meant to represent. I shouted out, “The World’s Fair!” and “Progress!” followed by, “I’ve been to Walt Disney World.” The real ones know.
The morning of our visit there had been a running race up the stairs. 300m! I can’t believe I missed it! That’s the kind of stupid activity I like to sign up for! Our tickets included elevator trips, though. The tower has two kinds of elevators: Diagonal elevators that go up the legs and vertical elevators that go up the spine. I got myself right next to a window for both elevator rides.
At the 2nd floor we separate from our tour group and have the freedom to walk around and join the line for the next elevator at our leisure. We get an important pro tip from our tour guide: you can buy a glass of champagne at the top. And as parting words, she teaches us the 5 Cs of Paris: Café, Croissant, Cigarettes, Champagne, and Complain.
Elevator to the summit is another line and this time we don’t have the benefit of the tour to advance us ahead of the crowds. When we reach the tippy top Michael and I get separated briefly. He saw a “penny” press machine and thought I would want one. I saw the sign for the champagne stand and went to find that. No one was manning the champagne counter when I arrived, but music and lights were going, and an open bottle on ice was in view. I stayed put long enough for our bartender to return while I’m at the front of the line. Santé!
We make our way around to catch the view from all sides. We see the weird wax model of Gustav Eiffel as well.
We take the stairs down! A unique experience!!! We stop at the first floor which has more souvenir shops and some concession stands. We had been in such a rush in the morning we never got coffee or breakfast. At first, just a coffee seems like it will do. But while we’re working on those, the ice cream stand opens and I hop in line. Michael pours his espresso on his vanilla scoop to make an affogato.
After our final descent to the ground, we do stop in a souvenir shop. They had some very cute illustrated postcards. AND they sold 4 packs of international stamps. So we bought eight postcards and eight stamps.
Before the trip I had declared to Michael that I would pack my French Cotton Lawn Dress from the Ines de la Fressange line at Uniqlo that I bought ages ago in 2014. And that he would have to take my photo on a lawn. We stopped on a lawn just in front of the tower in the Jardin de la Tour Eiffel to get my photo.
Next stop was a little creperie stand further down in the Champs de Mars. I’m supposed to be avoiding fats but I get a crepe avec emmental et jambon. We take a rest and write our postcards while listening to a couple sing along to a hurdy gurdy.
I want to see Notre Dame, but I haven’t been keeping up with its status. How far along is the restoration? Can you visit yet? We decide to scope it out.
It’s our first ride on Paris’s metro and unlike Netherlands or Belgium, we have to buy tickets instead of using NFC on our phones or debit cards. The teeny ticket reminds me of the ones we used in Japan so I get the impression that it is a scan-in-scan-out system. But it was actually a scan out TWICE system. Because we technically did a transfer that was just us walking through tunnels until we got to the Notre Dame exit. But after I scanned out the first time I tossed my ticket in a waste basket. Heck! So Michael had to count down before feeding his ticket through so we could both push through the turn style. The gate doors shut on my body but I powered through. Do not throw out that ticket until you see sunlight.
Notre Dame is still very much under construction. And closed off to visitors. We walked the perimeter nevertheless. And tried to see what we could see.
Michael has a very good idea which is to go to a boat restaurant and get a drink. I agree. I order a blanche beer because I have learned my lesson. After our boat beer break, it’s time to return to the hotel for our regularly scheduled siesta.
When we were turned away from the little sushi shop the previous night, we made reservations for the next day. So our mission was to stop a cocktail bar that looked really nice in the neighborhood and then the sushi bar. The cocktail bar was gin-focused, and had lots of fun drinks on the menu. I started with a Jardin Royal and Michael got a Hanami.
At the sushi shop we order a sake and the chef’s omakase. I’ve been accidentally using Japanese instead of Dutch or French this whole trip. But the servers didn’t speak Japanese and they chef’s weren’t chatty. Our meal starts with a pair of big snails each. They were still in their shells and we had to pull them out using a little skewer. I was feeling brave and decided to go for it. I almost lost my nerve when I got snail slime on my fingers. But I ate them. They were firmer than I expected. And saltier! Slimey, yet satisfying. I requested no shrimp on my sushi but I was denied. One shrimp on my plate. Michael and I did a swapsies. The sushi was really fresh and yummy. And it was fun to watch the chefs work.
After dinner, we decided to return to the cocktail bar. We just liked our fancy gin drinks. Since we’d chatted with the bar tender both times, our second round was a bit creative and off-menu. Very tasty.
End of another lovely day, we return to our hotel. Earlier in the day we’d purchased a bottle of white burgundy from a wine shop and stashed it in our minifridge. So we poured two glasses to finish off the evening.