Big-Little Adventures in Paris: Part One

Today I got up (like every other day it seems) at a terribly early hour.  By 8am I was showered, dressed, and eating breakfast and by 8:10am I was briskly walking through the Paris streets to a metro station on Saint-Germain.  I met Nikki and Ilia at a metro station near their hotel at 8:30am and then we headed to the Eiffel Tower.


The Eiffel Tower has only one elevator this summer (it usually has two) so the lines are taking twice as long as usual to get up.  The other elevator has been broken down for months but because it's custom made for the Eiffel Tower and all that you can't just order the broken parts from a catalog and it takes awhile to get fixed.  We ended up waiting in line for about an hour and a half, but it didn't feel so long because we spent the whole time talking and catching up.

Eventually we got onto the elevator and were taken up to the 2nd level.  We stopped off to take pictures and enjoy the view, then boarded the elevator leading to the top.

At the top you could see out all over the city.  It was very beautiful, but sadly it was also very hazy so the visibility was terrible.  It was almost impossible to even see Montmartre, and that's pretty close by!  We ended up deciding that while both the top and 2nd levels have great views, the 2nd is better from smoggy days like today when you need to be closer to the ground to see farther.

Eventually we took the elevator back to the 2nd level, then walked down the stairs to the ground.  We then took some very cute pictures in front of the Eiffel Tower on the Champs de Mars before leaving the area.

We crossed the Seine and headed up towards the Arc de Triomphe.  On our walk we ran into an open air market so we stopped by to see if we could find lunch there.  We ended up each getting a panini, drink, and pastry for 5 euros each.  Walking a little farther up the street we found a quiet park bench to sit down and enjoy our meal.


After eating we headed up to the Arc de Triomphe where we took pictures and watched traffic fly around the traffic circle.  Definitely one of the busiest parts of the city that I've seen yet.

After finishing up there we walked down the Champs-Elysées from the Arch to the Place de la Concorde.  Along the way we stopped into a few shops, watched some street performers, and wandered a bit.

When we finished taking pictures at the Place de la Concorde, we walked over to the large department stores: Au Printemps and Galeries Lafayette.  At Au Printemps we browsed briefly then left, but at Galeries Lafayette we actually spent some time shopping.  We also stopped into Angelina, a tea room that serves gourmet teas, coffees, pastries, and hot chocolate.

After sitting at Angelina for awhile we headed back into the store and did some more shopping.  When we finished we continued our walk back in the direction of their hotel.  On the way we stopped for dinner at a café where I got a chicken club sandwich and a glass of sauvignon-blanc.


Once I dropped them off at their hotel I hopped onto the metro and headed back to the Foyer.  I got back around 10pm and took shower, skyped my parents and sister, then uploaded pictures to facebook. Once I finished that I started my blog and once that's done, I'm going to bed.