Category Archives: Eiffel Tower

#PostfromParis – Day 5 pas de champagne en coupe lumineuse au sommet de la Tour Eiffel

Sorry for the delay getting these posted. Internet woes, what can I say.

This was our most active day on the walking front. My leg was feeling much better. We started out morning with a cruise on the Seine.

ET champagne
Musee D’Orsay from the Seine

Back in 1910, when the Seine flooded, the waters rose so high that only his head was visible above the water. Since then the people of Paris judge the height of the river by how much of the statue is submerged.

le zouave
le zouave on Pont D’Alma

Once a royal palace, The Conciergerie became a notorious prison and Marie Antoinette was kept there until she was executed by guillotine in Place de la Concorde.

The Conciergerie
The Conciergerie

on the pont neufAfter our boat cruise, we walked along the Seine taking in some of the sights we’d seen from the water.

The narrowest house in Paris
The narrowest house in Paris

Almost every bridge or fence that has a place for a padlock has one on it these days. The names of lovers are written on them and the idea is that their love will last forever when the lock bearing their names is fastened to the object. The city of Paris comes along and cuts the locks off the bridges because when they get this filled, the wind can’t pass through and the bridge will begin to sway in the wind and become unstable.

Lock covered pedestrian bridge
Lock covered pedestrian bridge
Lamp post on Pont Alexandre III
Lamp post on Pont Alexandre III
Dinosaur skeleton at the Bateau Mouche docks.
Dinosaur skeleton at the Bateau Mouche docks.

On Avenue New York, a replica of the flame held by the Statue of Liberty stands above the entrance to a tunnel. Many people believe this is the tunnel where Princess Diana was killed and leave flowers (and padlocks on the chain barrier surrounding it) but it isn’t.

Liberty Flame on Avenue New York

Since we didn’t have to be at the Eiffel Tower for our Behind the Scenes Tour (and jump the queue… ya right), we walked further along to Pont Bir Hakeim.

Sculpture on Pont Bir Hakeim
Sculpture on Pont Bir Hakeim
The Passy Viaduct on Pont Bir Hakeim
The Passy Viaduct on Pont Bir Hakeim

By now it was getting close to the time for our Eiffel Tower tour. We walked back and waited near the north pillar for our tour guide. While we waited, the wind came up and it began to rain. Not a nice place to be stood waiting to see if “maybe” (that was the word used by one of the earlier tour guides) our guide would turn up.

looking up the eiffel tower from the 2nd level

champagne
On level 2 of the Eiffel Tower

The wait to get tickets and get to the top level was going to be at least two hours, not to mention it would be that long to get back down afterwards. As much as I wanted champagne at the summit, I caved and we walked down the stairs from level 2 to level 1. Stairs and I still aren’t friends and going down is much harder than going up. Our guide said there were about 700 steps from the ground to the second level, so I figure we traversed about 350 give or take.

On one of our rest stops on the way down, I got this photograph of the Eiffel Tower elevator. Years ago, a man controlled the weight and speed of the elevators at the Eiffel Tower. He sat on a seat outside the carriage and turned the wheel one way or the other to make adjustments. Not my idea of a fun (or even safe) job. Now, a mannequin sits in his place so that people can see the technology from years gone by.

Eiffel Tower elevator mannequin
Eiffel Tower elevator mannequin

Whilst disappointed about no champagne en coupe lumineuse au sommet de la Tour Eiffel, we decided to find a place where we could buy a bottle of nice champers and we’d have it back at the hotel where it would be just the two of us and we wouldn’t be rushed.

A plus to the day was we were ‘downtown’ so got to see the Eiffel Tower lit up after dark. A tripod would have worked better but I tried to balance myself against the stone wall to keep the camera from moving too much.

Eiffel Tower at night
Eiffel Tower at night

Once an hour, on the hour, and lasting for five minutes the Eiffel Tower glitters. Lights randomly go off and on and it’s truly a sight to see. When I was in Paris in 2003, the main tower lights went out and it was just the glittering ones that were on. Either way, it looks amazing.

Eiffel Tower glittering

BTW, we walked a mere 27,467 steps today… and I feel fine.

#PostfromParis – Day 3 Parc des Buttes Chaumont +

I can’t believe how quickly the time is flying by. Day 3 already. After breakfast we headed to our first destination of the day – Parc des Buttes Chaumont. We’re becoming quite familiar with the metro stations and are finding it easier to get around in the underground maze of tunnels and tracks.

When we got off the metro at the Buttes Chaumont stop, we were rescued from walking up 300+ stairs to get out of the station by a young woman who told us that there was an elevator available to get you to the top. I know I would never have been able to climb that far.

Buttes Chaumont
Paris skyline and Temple Sibylle (right)

We knew there was waterfall in the park so when we heard the rushing water, we walked in that direction. This one wasn’t the one we expected to find but it was pretty.

waterfall in butte chaumont
One of the two waterfalls in Parc des Buttes Chaumont

After a brief stop here for photos, we walked across the viaduct and made our way to the Temple de la Sibylle. I might look like I’m walking at a good pace in this photo but not really. Thank to our pedometer, we’re able to keep track of our speed which ranges from .7 to .8 mph. Almost a snail’s pace.

butte chaumont

On our first day here in Paris, we walked from our hotel to Sacre Coeur so you can see how far we are now from there.

buttes chaumont
Sacre Coeur from the Temple de la Sibylle

After enjoying the view, we made our way back down the hill from the Temple and across a bridge which bounced up and down with each step we took. Of course, someone who shall remain nameless thought it would be great fun to jump up and down to really get it bouncing and while I was attempting to take a photo. Yeesh…

buttes chaumont
We walked across this bridge over the lake

We walked down this set of stairs so that we could walk under the viaduct we had walked on earlier.

buttes chaumont
One of the stone staircases in Parc des Buttes Chaumont
buttes chaumont
Viaduct we walked on to get to the Temple de la Sibylle

After walking under the viaduct, we heard the roar of waterfalls again so continued in the direction of the sound. This turned out to be the one we were looking for in the man-made cave complete with stalactites hanging from above.

butte chaumont
Waterfall inside the cave
buttes chaumont
Standing in the cave in front of the waterfall

After our “fun” in the park, we returned to the metro and headed off to our next destination – Opera.

opera
Opera Garnier

From here we walked to Place Vendôme. It being Sunday (and probably even more importantly Easter Sunday) the shops were closed. This is an area of exclusive ones, too. Had Cartier’s been open, I likely wouldn’t have been able to get my picture taken standing so close to the place. When I was here in 2003, security guards stood at every entrance.

place vendome
Standing outside one of the Cartier locations
place vendome
The Vendôme Column

Back to the metro and over to Trocadero…

Trocadero
WWI Memorial on the wall of the Passy Cemetery near the Trocadero
Eiffel Tower
The Eiffel Tower where we’ll be drinking champagne at the summit on Tuesday.

Eiffel Tower

Eiffel Tower

We walked down to street level along the river to the Pont de Bir Hakeim, crossed back to the Rive Gauche and made our way back to the Eiffel Tower to see where the statue of Gustave Eiffel is located where we’re to meet for our Tuesday tour.

By now we were getting hungry and in need of a WC, so we continued down along the river and stopped at La Frégate for a late lunch/early supper. Very nice place and we’ll likely stop in again before we go home.

And that’s day 3…

#AtoZChallenge – P is for Paris

Paris

Paris
Looking out over Paris from Parc de Belleville taken on my first trip to the City of Lights in 2003

Known also as the City of Lights, Paris is the capital of France and the country’s largest city. And possibly most importantly, where my husband and I will be from today until 27th April! Woo hoo!

Places we’ll be visiting whilst on our trip (and in no particular order) include:

The Arc de Triomphe. When you climb to street level at the George V metro stop, the sight as this massive structure comes into view is truly breathtaking. This trip, I plan on going to the top since I didn’t get there on my only other trip. The views down the Champs Elysees should be spectacular.

Notre Dame Cathedral. I visited here in 2003 but didn’t get up to the gallery where the gargoyles that keep watch over the city reside. I think they are wonderous creatures and have to get at least one photo of me, and maybe even a selfie of hubby and me with a gargoyle and definitely one with the Eiffel Tower in the background.

And no trip to Paris would be complete without going to the Eiffel Tower. The views from the second and third levels are amazing and this time, we might even push the boat out and have a glass of champagne at the top.

And given my Scottish heritage, no trip would be complete without a trip to a Scottish Pub. My two favourites in Paris are The Highlander and The Auld Alliance.

Of course, there will be others but to find out what they are, you’ll have to come back to my blog each day as I plan to write posts from here every day.