All the way to the summit!

Magnificent day.
Woke to brilliant blue skies.
Not a breath of wind.
And a forecast of 25 degrees.

You can't ask for more than that.

We woke at 7am.
( If you discount the time I had to get out of bed at 4.55am to turn off the alarm on my phone.
That's the time it is set for at home to go to work.
How did that happen?
I have to tell you that I didn't spend any time worrying about it.
Zzzzzzzzz..... )

Up at 7am.
On our way by 8am.
Train to Bir-Hakeim train station.....Stop by the Eiffel Tower.

( Actually, it turns out, they are not Train Stations at all.
They are Subway Stations ....
And it took me 2 ladies at the ticket offices and 3 very nice French Policemen to work that out.
But more about that later.
Not a happy traveller.
....I was hot.... )

Ok.... Beautiful morning.
We walked from the Subway Station to the Eiffel Tower.
( That's pretty cool, isn't it? )
Wandered around underneath just oohing and arring a lot.
Then a quiet meander down the park the Champ de Mars, stopping now and then just to look back and gaze in awe.
THAT'S the Eiffel Tower!

Wonderful Parisian sidewalk cafe for coffee, orange juice
( I ordered a large one to make up for missing out on that one yesterday. )
Chocolate croissants ... Two.
( Just in case I miss out on one any time in the future.... Can't be too careful.)
Emily had a sandwich.

Off to the Easy Tours office, 3 minutes away.
Wonderful young guide Juan Carlos.
Magnificent tour.
Walked straight into the elevator, skipped all the lines.
(And there were very long lines, even at 8.45am and they didn't open til 9.30.)

Our tour started at 10.30am.
Up to the 2nd level.
Lots of history and places pointed out to us.
A great wander round there.
Then we joined the queue to get to the summit and Juan Carlos kept us entertained the whole wait with history and wonderful stories.
He was really fantastic.

Amazing ride in the elevator to the top.

It's a very long way up.

After a short tour with Juan Carlos, he left us and we were free to explore the summit for as long as we liked.
And then could just do the other levels as we liked.

We walked outside on the summit and THE FLOOR MOVES!
Did you get that?
The floor moves!
Hey, bit scary that.
But, what are you going to do.
We headed straight to the champagne bar.

With a champagne in hand each, we headed to gaze at the view and we toasted Dad from the top of the Eiffel Tower.
And we grinned a lot.

Just an absolutely amazing experience.
The views are unbelievable.
We saw Sacre Coeur in the distance.
It really stands out.
( Couldn't see the steps though.)
The Arc de Triomphe....
Everything.
Magnificent view.

Down to the 2nd level.
Hit the souvenir shop and I made Emily buy me a tiny Eiffel Tower just so I could say we had one from there.
More looking round.

Then down to level one...and we got very adventurous and walked on the glass floors, gazing down to the ant size figures through the glass.

Then to the Restaurant 58.
Stands for 58 metres high.
Lovely table by a window.
You really couldn't stop us grinning.

Entree.....Mozzarella and veges.
Main...I had macaroni casserole
Emily had salmon.
AND we has raspberry daiquiris.
One each.
Very, very nice.

Lovely food.
Then outside our window, a young model appeared with a film crew .... so much excitement ensued as all the wait staff came and joined our table to check out the hot girl in the very flimsy dress.
We were hysterical at the way the male film crew kept telling her to put her shoulders back.
Boys telling girls how to look.
We think that was what they were doing anyway.

We had photos taken by the restaurant photographer.
I bought two.
Just summed up the day somehow.

We had the best, best time.

It was now 2.30pm and we were still going strong.
Onto the 3pm River Cruise.
Great tour.
Old French songs played as we chugged down the Seine in brilliant sunshine.
We sat on the top deck and just surveyed the sights.
Notre Dame looks amazing from the water.
And the Louvre is ENORMOUS.

Really, really enjoyed that.

But now I am very, very hot.

We sat in the shade of the bridge from the Trocadero to the Eiffel Tower sipping on slurpies.
Made you feel much better.

Ok...4.30pm now.
Time to go home.

I just want to validate my Eurorail Pass at the Train Station.
Amanda, I think I remember you telling me to do this at a major train station.
This one looked big.
They looked at me as if I had 2 heads.
Sent me off to another area....
Information girl looked very confused and just tried to get rid of the weird Australian by sending her to 'Tour Eiffel' just 2 minutes up the road.
Off we trot.
Hang on.... She's trying to send us to the a Eiffel Tower.
I've been there.
It's not a train station.
Did I mention I was hot?
Very hot?
I am not good when I am hot.
( Emily can testify to that.)

So I give up and accost 3 policemen.
They were fascinated.
Finally, the fact emerged that what I thought were train stations, were actually SUBWAY stations.

Of course they are.

Obvious to everyone.

So I gave up on the validating thing and will do it tomorrow at a big TRAIN station.

In my defence, I will say they I have a mind like a sieve .... (and I hate being hot.)

Hot SUBWAY ride back to the Place D'Italie.

Emily went off to get her hair cut.... ( because she was hot. )

And I retired gracefully to our room.... (Air conditioned.)

(Really... sunny....25 degrees.... Just can't please some people.)

An hour and a half later, Emily appears.... Great haircut....
( After miming her style to the French hairdressers)
And carrying goodies for our night time picnic at the Champs de Mars.

Just realised that it is midnight here so 8am at home .... Will publish this.
Sitting in the Lobby now.
( I am a stayer... Will put photos on.... Look back at this shortly....)

Just added the photos..
It's 12.30am
Will have to continue tomorrow.
We had the best picnic on the Champs de Mars....
Stay tuned....

Xxx