The View From the Top

So you may have been waiting to see this on ever since we started talking about Paris, but  saved it because we didn't actually go up to the top of the Eiffel Tower until our last day in Paris.  To end on a high note.  A really high note.  To start off with though, here's a picture of our first glimpse of the Eiffel Tower from down a street we turned.  I had decided to to "Photo a Day May" and the photo that day happened to be a skyline, and I thought well this is an opportunity not to be missed, I'm in Paris, better get that darn tower in the shot!  Problem it was about our 2nd day in Paris and we had no sense of direction yet (or size, we way underestimated how huge that city is!) So as we set out for a stroll to see the new neighborhood, with that thought of the Eiffel tower in the back of my mind we kept finding ourselves making turns leading in a generalish area, though we kept saying "we don't need to go all the way to it today, lets just wander around a bit more,if we see it we see it... and both covertly searching for a glimpse of the top.  It happened as we crossed a street and Erin let out a little little squeal of joy and we impeded traffic a bit but got the money shot for my way to entertaining to us photo challange.  Mission Accomplished.

The first time we actually went to see the Eiffel Tower it was kind of a disaster.  Like I mentioned we didn't realize how big Paris was when we first got there.  So when we set off to see the tower I wanted to walk there, thinking we saw a glimpse of it the other day and that wasn't that far, how long could it take?  Well it took a long time.  And to top it off, it started to rain.  It started drizzling when we were a couple blocks from the house but after a while it was pretty much a full on downpour.  We had umbrellas but we were pretty much soaked, especially our shoes. Mine were making a lovely gushing sound as we walked.  It was pretty unpleasant.  However, after a long walk and a very busy road of cars zooming past us splashing water we finally made it to the tower.  Even in the rain it was quite the sight.  You can see pictures of it but once you're standing at the base staring up at it it's like something completely new.  We were impressed.  But still very soggy and after a very short time we decided to find the metro station and head home.  

On a sunnier day we decided another visit to the Eiffel Tower was in order, and this time we took the metro to a stop jst down the river and walked along the Seine for a little while to get to the tower.

It was magnificent.  However, the picture perfect views along the river proved a little tempting to snap photos every ive feet and we pretty much have a photographed record of our whole journey that day.  Seriously I think there about 500 pictures.  Here are a few that were my favorites.

We finally made it in the sunshine!

We went to get some dinner and then came back to see the tower light up at night.  It's really beautiful.

And every hour it has thousands of lights that come on and sparkle for 5 minutes!

There are two carousels near the Eiffel tower, and I loved this one with the hot air ballon looking thing on top!  It was pretty pretty all lit up!

Watching the sparkles!

Here are some pics from another day when we were picnicking at the  park by the tower.  One of my favorite things to do in Paris!

 We also made sure to visit the Eiffel Tower a couple times while Lindsey was here.

No we come to our last full day in Paris when Erin and I decided to go up to the top of the Tower.  First we went over across the street to get some more awesome views of the tower itself.

Then we crossed back over and up we went!  We decided to take the stairs up the first part (There are three levels and you can climb the stairs to 2 of them).

It was a workout going up those stairs but worth it for the views!

We were glad we took the stairs so we could take out time and check out all the metal work.

city view with the shadow of the tower

Even from the first level you are pretty high up and can see gorgeous views of Paris!  We spotted the Sacre Cour over in Montmartre.

View looking south-east (our apt would be in the right corner!)

still a ways to the top!

I love Paris buildings with their rounded blue tops :)

this guy is hiding under the elevator, and you can catch a glimpse of him as the elevator goes past!
Yet another reason to take the stairs ;)

Soon we made it up to the second level and stopped to take a look around there for a while before riding the elevator the rest of the way to the top!

Around the ceiling at the top of the Tower there is a little strip that shows how tall the tower is compared to other famous buildings and monuments around the world.

Here we go! In the elevator to the tip top!

And we made it!  The very top has a lattice all around it so you can fall out ;)

It also has a little model of Mr. Eiffel's office in the center that you can look in the window to.

It's a long way down from up there!

But the views sure are amazing!  When we got to the very top though we could hardly find some of the things that stood out before, like Sacre Cour.  From the lower level you can still see the hill it's on but from the top the angle is so big that you can see the hill rising abouve its surroundings anymore, it just blends in with everything around it.

When we were thinking about going up to the top of the tower we couldn't decide it we wanted to go during the day or at night.  So we cleverly timed it so we went up a little before sunset so we could see both!  And let me tell you that's the thing to do.  Watching the sunset over Paris from the top of the Eiffel Tower was something I will always remember!  It was super fantastic and (though crowded) extremely beautiful.

Shortly after sunset the sparkles came on and we got to see those flashing lights up close and personal!

We took some more photos of the city  on the way down now that it was all lit up and looking fancy!

Arc de Triomphe

You can just see Notre Dame
in the middle (and a little upper left) of this one

Sacre Cour up on the Butte

North West

North East

South East

South West

We saw the moon come out too!

When we finally decided we'd had enough viewing time we headed back down to the bottom.  As we were going down we realized it was almost on the hour again and the tower would sparkle one more time in about three minutes.  So we booked it down the stairs and made it down (just barely) in time to watch the sparkly light show one last time while we were in Paris.  Perfect ending to out time there!

Goodnight Moon!

UPDATE - I forgot to add this but on our last day walking around Paris we FINALLY heard a street performer play La Vie en Rose and got sooo super excited :)  here's the video!

Lovely Luxembourg Garden

We almost didn't make it to the Luxembourg Gardens while we were in Paris.  We kept meaning to go and ended up making other plans each time.  During our last couple days though, we decided to head over and check them out. I am super glad we made it there because they are a wonderful place!

  This sculpture is in the Luxembourg gardens and we got a kick out of it after having visited the inspiration for it while we were in Roma!  

 

There are many, many gardens around Paris and they are a popular gathering spot for locals and tourists alike.  The Luxembourg Gardens had a more playful relaxed feeling to them than some of the other places around Paris, and it almost felt like a beach with all the people that were catching some rays on the beautiful day when we visited the Park.  

It also has some more quirky little qualities, like these bee hives that are kept in one section of the garden, complete with real live bees and all!  That picture on the lower left is my bee impression :)

There are also bocce ball courts at Luxembourg Gardens!  I love bocce and there were about 4 or 5 games going on at once on the bocce ball courts.  These people were serious about there game and had some superb throwing techniques.  Apparently the French are a force to be reckoned with on the bocce ball court.  Look out world.

        

        

        

We also found the awesome boat fountain area that proved to be yet another super entertaining way to spend an afternoon.  There was a big round pond/fountain and it had little mini sail boats floating around on it, and people around the edges had these long poles and would push the sailboats back out into the middle, or in some cases into epic battles with other sailboats.  Most of the little boats were decorated in the colors of a specific country with an abbreviated label of that country and its flag.  

Other boats weren't so politically inclined and sported various sea creature pictures.

My favorite one was the black sailed pirate ship which I am happy to report lived up to its reputation and somehow managed to go after several other boats, almost taking Russia out at one point.

Of course we spotted the US ship and cheered it on as it made its way around the pond :)

After watching the dramatic ship battles we decided to head home for the day, but when we passed by this fabulous turtle/horse/world globe fountain I couldn't resist the urge to splash around for a little while.  The weather was just gorgeous and it felt like the right thing to do!

It turned out well and we had a blast playing in the fountain for a little while.

Isn't it a happy fountain? Just look at that turtle! 

With all the walking in Paris its nice to sit and dip your toes in a fountain every once in a while, it was our Parisian Pedicure!

Paris is such a great place.  Even after spending a month exploring the city we were still finding new things to love about it in our last few days there.  It's truly a great city!

BONUS!! So I just remembered about this next place so I'll throw it in with this post too.  During our last couple days we got the "unlimited" metro ticket so we could zip all around town and go see the things we wanted to see again, and we decided to head out to the "Geode" which is kind of far and on it's own so we hadn't made the trip before.  It was pretty cool though! It's at a science museum in the very north eastern part of Paris but it's actually got a great area around it with parks and a canal and we're glad we made the trip out there to go check it out. Here are some pics!