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.