Our Discover Walks tour guide was wonderful (we love you, Pauline!), a Paris native who spoke marvelous English; she led us all over the right bank, with great insights, tips for getting around town, and insider info on avoiding the lines at museums. It was a lot of fun, and we were glad we made it in time!
The end of our tour found us at the base of the Avenue des Champs Élysées; time for a quick lunch in one of the many parks and a walk to the Arc de Triomphe!
While we were there at the Arc the weather turned from gray and cloudy to beautifully sunny. We decided against taking the Metro to the Eiffel Tower, instead whipping out a trusty map to get there on foot.
As we walked we kept to the slightly less-beaten path, and found that Paris is not only beautiful in its highly visible tourist areas; even the side streets have lovely aspects.
It was a nice walk, though we had to rely on our map. All of the buildings are many levels, so we couldn't keep sight of our end goal. We kept getting glimpses, though, and that was enough to let us know we were headed the right way...
We finally made it, and were shocked at the sheer size of the Eiffel Tower. It was much larger than we had thought, and was quite intimidating.
The lines for tickets to the elevators were horrendous, so we opted for the relatively shorter line for the stairs; 360 of them to the first level. No sweat.
Okay, so there was a little sweat. But the views were totally worth it.
As this point we hemmed and hawed about taking the elevator to the second level, but we put on our game faces and took on another 360 stairs.
It was late enough in the day at this point that we didn't care too much about riding the elevator all the way to the top. We didn't quite see the point--it's just windy and slightly terrifying for edge-height-issue people, who shall remain nameless... We chose to head on down. We waited for quite some time for the elevator, but ended up just taking the stairs. Again. Much easier on the way down!
Our day wasn't over, though. We grabbed dinner in a little cafe, and headed the rest of the way to Sacré-Cœur Basilica. We had seen it from our train as we entered Paris, and knew that it was a definite 'must see'. Unfortunately, it's up a very steep hill. Fortunately, there's a nice little train you can take up that hill if your legs are done for the day. Mine certainly were.
There must have been hundreds of people on the steps of the church, watching the sun set over Paris. The light was lovely, and we made sure to stop for a few minutes before entering the Basilica itself.
There are no photos allowed within the Basilica, which definitely helped it feel more like an actual holy and worshipful place, unlike our experience at Notre Dame Cathedral. The atmosphere inside was extremely reverent, and was a refreshing change from previous sites.
Once we finished our visit, we took some time to sit on the steps and join everyone else in watching the sunset. Mother Nature gave us a wonderful show.
As the sky grew darker, we could see the lights gradually come on throughout the city.
Unfortunately, my camera could not manage to catch the Eiffel Tower lit up for night time.
Believe me, it was beautiful.
So was Sacré-Cœur Basilica.
It was a perfect way to end a perfectly exhausting day.
2 comments:
Color me jealous!!! You guys totally deserve it though! So glad you took time for yourselves to celebrate your marriage!
awesome... and though it doesn't really compare at all we're feeling cool around here because we put together a puzzle of the Arc recently so my kids actually knew what your pictures were of - who says I'm not educating them?
I think I'm going to have to have a leg transplant if I ever plan a trip to paris!
Post a Comment