I took the Metro to Trocadero and headed up the stairs. Tour buses lined the street, so I knew I was in the right place. I should tell you that up until this point I had not seen the Tour Eiffel since my arrival in Paris. Just one of those things, but if you're not in the right place, you just don't see it. SO as I rounded the corner, I was a bit tingly from excitement.
It did not disappoint. From Trocadero, you can see the whole tower, the top still hidden by the morning fog. It's all the things you hear everyone say about it, and for a tourist destination, it isn't cheesy at all. It is a marvel.
Once on the property proper, we all lined up. The tower elevators open at 9:30, and it was only 10:00, but the line up extended well past the caged queue section. I was in line for about 45 minutes, took some snaps and got through security.
Once my ticket was purchased (something most people evidently do in advance) I was in the short line waiting for the elevator. It seemed to go up forever, and that was only to the 1st landing.
There was a large group of teenagers screaming around the top, seemingly attended to by only one adult, so I was motivated by my annoyance and made my way down the elevator to the second level, where there was more space and less adolescence. The view is equally astounding here. Not only because you're so high up, but because you're looking at PARIS.
The city really is beautiful in it's architecturally asymmetry. Circles of buildins swirl, place de Concorde cuts a swath through the whole thing, Notre Dame imposes it's dauntingly stunning spires above it all. The new area of Paris is kept all in one place, more or less, so the modern buildings aren't dotted in the with the old, which is nice. My stomach required attention, so I decided to skip the line up waiting for the elevator going down and took the stairs. My knees were not happy about this and I realized how much walking I had been doing and that my joints were actually not feeling so hot. I felt old for about thirty seconds, then saw a woman at least ten years my junior walking up the stairs, red faced, whining and wheezing. Schadenfreude saves the day, again.
On the main deck, there's a small garden area, two restaurants and a gift shop, as well as a promenade all the way around the perimeter. It's a huge area and reminds you of the scale of the tower itself. I peeked in to ta restaurant and was told they'd be open in 20 minutes. I went to the raised garden area, surrounded by bamboo and watched the staff set up the beverage bar. I was too early for champagne at the summit level (there's a champagne bar up there), but was looking forward to having a glass or two with lunch.
Once the restaurant was open, I entered and was greeted by a terribly cheerful waiter who sat me next to a window and asked if anyone wold be joining me. Nope. He immediately plunked himself into the seat across from me, cupped his chin in his hands and said "I am your date. You're in mt seat." Charming little thing. I told him to be a good date and go get Momma some champagne, saying Momma out of habit. he took to this very quickly and for the rest of my meal called me Momma instead of Madame, which I think he got flack from his boss for. But it was cute and made me feel at home.
The concept of the restaurant was a bit weird, but interesting. You could order a la carte or prix fixe, but your starters and dessert were picked up at a counter, then your main was prepared and brought out to you. Drinks were served by your server. SO I went for the prix fixe 3 course, wondering if this was going to be bad tourist food or if they could pull this off. The starter and dessert came in seperate little covered boxes, carefully placed in a wire basket and walked over to my table. Weird, but they both were beautifully presented. I had a duck and foie terrine to start, served with bread. I dug into the terrine and was happy - just salty enough, the duck was tender and not too much aspic (blech). My main came out in its own little box, salmon with risotto and fava beans, again, nicely presented. The
salmon was remarkably well cooked. I was expecting it to come out dry, but it was moist and lovely. The risotto as well, was obviously cooked by someone who knew what they were doing. So as much as delivery of the food was odd to me, the food itself was above par. And of course, so was the bubbly.
My waiter brought me a second glass without asking and winked at me. "I assume, Momma." God bless him. So all in all, two glasses of champagne, three courses, tax and tip = 47 euros. For a restaurant in the Eiffel Tower, I was impressed. I wold have thought at least 60, but there it was. I was reading my bill as I headed out the door with my camera slung over my shoulder. My subconscious must have thought the weight of the camera was my purse, but as I entered the gift shop and looked down, there was no purse. Merde.
I started around the gift shop to the exit when I heard a furtive semi-whisper "pssst... Momma? Are you in here?" Sweetest boy in the world chased me down with my purse. Vive la France, I say.
As I left the Tour EIffel area and walked along the Seine, I decided I'd walk up toward Le Place de Concorde and see what was what. The walk itself is lovely, with trees and leaves blowing in a gentle wind, and not too crowded. The bridges started to appear... Alma, Invalides, Alexandre III. I crossed here to the other side of the Seine and crossed over to walk up Avenue Winston Churchill, between the Grand Palais and Petite Palais to the Champs Elysees.
Standing in the middle of the road on a pedestrian island, you can look up one way and see L'Arc de Triomphe and down the other and see the Obelisque that marks Le Place de La Concorde. I started toward the Obelisque, and veered off the sidewalk to amble through a garden walkway that was named something to do with Ambassadors, I can't recall.
Le Place de La Concorde is crazy. It's beautiful and traffic is insane. Trying to take pictures while crossing the street may not have been smart, but everyone was doing it, regardless of the horns blaring at us.
Continuing further, I came to the gates to le Jardin de Tuileries, which is just plain lovely. What a culture - a park full of people sitting in chairs, dotted everywhere, not bolted down, no graffiti on the benches, just people napping in the afternoon sun. Four cafes with wine and coffee and snacks line the main walkway. On either side of the main path there are little gardens off set with ponds and different flowers and ducks. Lots of ducks. I chose a small garden with a statue of Pan at the head of the pond. It was so amazing ot think this had been built of royalty, that it had been around for so long, being enjoyed by all sorts of people for centuries. I grabbed a coffee and continued up to another fountain and sat for a while longer. My feet hurt and I was pretty sure there was a blister forming somewhere.
I could see the gate to the Louvre coming up ahead. As I got near the entrance I could see the line up and my feet immediately informed me there was no way in hell I was walking through a museum. I deked left and found a Metro Station. I got back to my hotel around 4:30. I picked up some wine and cheese on my way back. I happily munched in my room and watched BBC Newsworld for a couple of hours. My feet were throbbing, so I laid back and put my feet up for a bit, and naturally dozed off. I woke up and drowsily wandered to a nearby cafe for a light supper and glass of wine.
Back to my room for the night, another glass of wine and a long, solid sleep.
-- The wireless connection I have is blinking out, so uploading pics is sooooo slow. I'll post pics when I get a better connection.
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