News From the Top

So there we were on the second platform, getting in the line for the elevators to the top (lucky for me there were no more stairs open to the public at this point!). Now, Tenzig hates crowds as much as I am afraid of heights, maybe even more, so it was his turn to grin and bear it. The line seemed endless as it snaked across the platform, around and under the great girders of the tower. We were penned in between metal railings, rubbing elbows with the people ahead of us. Tenzig gritted his teeth. Finally we made it into the elevator, with a family with a screaming ten year old girl. Not cute. We were immensely relieved to get out onto the uppermost viewing platform and away from her piercing cries. Being on top of the Eiffel Tower is a lot like being on top of the Empire State Building. You're high but not too high, there is a 360 degree view of the city below, and people are milling around taking pictures and trying to make sure they see everything there is to see. Also like the Empire State, you are at the mercy of the atmosphere: a humid hazy day - no view, dry and clear - you can see for miles. Our view was the former, the sky was still uncertain about whether it would rain or not, so a blanket of mist hung low over the city. We could see the immediate city below but just a few miles away, the details of the Sacre Coeur on Montmartre were obscured.


We milled around with our fellow visitors (I saw that the crying girl from the elevator had calmed down), taking in the view from each side until we had our fill. Looking down I began to wish that we had approached the Tower from the Champ de Mars instead of from the river, so that we could have benefited from the full majestic presentation of the gardens laid out at its feet. But we hadn't, so we had to be satisfied with the view from the top. When we were ready, we took the elevator back down to the first floor to the post office. Tenzig is a lot more organized than I am about sending postcards home to friends and family. He is always determined to send them on the first day so he was carrying a list of addresses with him when we were at the tower. We both bought cards in the post office but only Tenzig was able to fill his out and mail them from right there where the post office attendant applied a special "Paris Tour Eiffel" postmark. I was very jealous. We didn't eat at any of the restaurants at the tower, but I wish that we had. The next time we go back I am determined to eat at the Jules Verne, it's expensive but it's one of those things I'd like to experience because it's a restaurant in the Eiffel Tower, because it's named after Jules Verne, because it was in a James Bond movie, basically just because. So, until then...

The Long March

Our goal for the day was the Eiffel Tower, so after getting our fill of the courtyards and gardens surrounding the Louvre, Tenzig and I set the tower in our sights and started walking. Let me say this, Paris is not a BIG city, the center of it is relatively small, but even in a small city things can be farther than you thought. The Eiffel Tower was one of those things. I think it had to do with our perception of its size, I'm not sure if we thought it was bigger or smaller than it actually is but whichever it was we misjudged the distance. It is definitely walkable from Les Halles but we just weren't prepared. The day was overcast and some threatening drizzle fell along the way but luckily it never developed into anything stronger. The crust of bread we had had for breakfast was not the best foundation for the journey. You can see the Tower from just about everywhere (it's the tallest structure in the Paris), and once we had crossed the river I thought it would be right there, but like a mirage in the desert it jumped into the distance again. We made a lunch pit-stop at a touristy cafe a few blocks from the tower and I indulged in yet another Croque Madame, I couldn't resist! Once we were refreshed we walked the final distance coming into the open square at the base of the tower from the river side.


The trellised arches of the base swept the sky over our heads and the details of design and construction were too many to count. Intentional decoration merged with accidental design as struts and trusses laced and interlaced while we walked around underneath. Once we were ready to see more we investigated the ticket situation. Two lines were forming at opposite piers, one (the longer one) was for the elevator from the ground up to the next level, the other (much shorter) was for the stairs to the first level where you could then catch the elevator. We were there pretty early so the crowds weren't teeming yet but we opted to take the stairs and get the experience of the climb.


A word here about the climb: if you are afraid of heights, I do not recommend it. The stairs are metal grating, so you can see down the entire time, the walls are metal mesh which give the feeling of not being walls at all. In case you hadn't guessed by now, I am afraid of heights. Every once in a while I decide to try to conquer my fear, and it goes well for a little while and then I cross a line and turn to jelly. I was fine up to the first level, there was a nice breeze and we were climbing diagonally up through the pier. Once there we investigated the elevator line and finding it still too long Tenzig suggested we climb again to the next level. I agreed with less zeal that I had for the first round. I went in front pushing one foot in front of the other hoping the rhythm of my steps would keep me calm. Part way up Tenzig decided to playfully tickle my side and I turned and snapped at him. He didn't know how scared I was until then so after that he steadied me and helped me the rest of the way up to the platform. Needless to say, I was overjoyed to get in the elevator line to the top. Even though it is looking up instead of down, I think that this picture gives a good idea of the vertiginous feeling I had on the way up.

Devil in the Details

On the second day the clouds pulled in accompanied by a little drizzle, but that didn't stop me! I had Tenzig out of bed, off to a cafe for coffee and a piece of pain with beurre, and then onto the beginning of a LONG walk, at the end of which was the Eiffel Tower. From the hotel we walked to the river through the courtyard of the Louvre and the Jardin des Tuileries. On this my first trip to Paris I had decided to use my time getting to know the layout of the city while saving big museums visits for the next time. We spent some time in the courtyard examining the wealth of details left behind by the trail of history. Napoleon III's giant "N" made me wish I could carve my own giant initial on a building or two!


Before I left for Paris I had started to read The Queen of Fashion, a biography of Marie Antoinette focusing on the influence that her style choices had on the path of French history. Through the book I became immersed in her world; it was arresting to think that I was walking in gardens where she had once walked and that I stood in front of the arch built on the site of her beheading.


I leave you with these lighting bolts from the gates of the Louvre, telling anyone who wishes to enter that power and glory await within. Until they are taken away...

Two Faced Bridge

I loved these two faces carved into the stone of one of the bridges crossing the Seine. If you approach from the happy side and then turn, you will see grumpy face scowling at your back as you walk away. They reminded me of a bust of Janus (the prototypical two-face) on the Ponte Fabricio in Rome. Janus represented transition and bridges are also places of transition, I think that these two go along nicely with that theme.