Today is Thursday, July 23. Right now it is 8:50 p.m.
(I wrote this last night but forgot to post. Sorry!)
Today we went to the Eiffel Tower and Sacre-Couer.
We arrived about 9:30 and there was already quite a line f
or the lift to the top of the tower, so we decided to take t
he stairs to the 2nd floor (43 stories up) and then purchase a ticket for a lift to the top from there. After buying our tickets we headed up the stairs. Yes, they actually charge you to walk up 43 stories, and even crazier is that I paid it. The climb really wasn't that bad. The view on the way up is breathtaking - both figuratively and l
iterally. The climb is broken up by signs along the way about the tower and it's history. On both the first floor (21 stories up) and the seco
nd floor we were able to stop and take photos. In the photo above you can see the first floor. We made our way to the top via the lift from the second floor and had a spectacular view of Paris.
After we left the Eiffel Tower we headed over to Sacre-Coure. This is a church on the hill in Montmatre that has a significant Byzantine influence. We climbed yet more stairs to the top of the dome and could see all
the way back into Paris. We also went into the crypt below the church as well as toured the inside of the church. There are not photographs allowed inside the church. Bummer!
Next, we made our way over to a small square where we sat for a late lunch and watched the people walk by and enjoyed the artists selling their paintings. It is a law in Paris that you may sit in a cafe as long
as you like as long as you order at least one drink, so we stayed for about 2 hours and enjoyed our lunch, wine and people watching. I ordered French onion soup and a small bottle of Riesling. Tracy ordered the menu plat - choice of salad or starter, main course and dessert. She chose the tossed salad, steak and fries and creme caramel for dessert.
So glad you remembered to post this. I waited all day for it and figured you were so exhausted from being up late the night before that you went to bed early and forgot. Looks like you had a fantastic day and beautiful weather. There is nothing like seeing Sacre Coeur against a bluebird sky. Gorgeous. You didn't tell us if you found anything pretty to buy on the square. My favorite watercolor artist that was there when we all went was also there when I went back in January of this year. Your meal looks wonderful! French onion soup does not taste near as good anywhere but in France. What were you thinking to climb all those stairs in the Eiffel knowing that you had Montmartre coming up in the same day!! I would have died!! You go girls!
ReplyDeleteAmy, the same guy was there when we were there, but had just packed up to leave because it started to rain. Boooo. i hope we can make it back there today and see if he has anything i like. I would love another watercolor to add to my collection. As far as the stairs go... it was worth it. We were so sore the next day though. Because we got there later than we wanted we would have had to wait for about 2 hours for the lift to the top. Since we climbed the stairs our wait from the second floor for the lift to the top was about 10 minutes. Definitely worth it considering we had so much to see in such a short time. The fun part of the stairs up the Eiffel Tower was all the interesting facts we learned on the way up. Like it has 30 tons of paint covering it.
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