JAYWALKing the World : Paris Weekend Getaway

Rain was not part of the plan

Day 2 we hit the ground running. Our plan was to beat the crowd to the Eiffel, after all it was Saturday and we hear the lines back up pretty early. We obviously needed some breakfast to start the busy day, but let me tell you that is no easy task in Paris. In fact, one of the biggest cultural differences I noticed while we were there was their take on breakfast (besides everyone from 4-40 constantly smoking). As Americans, we try to eat big protein packed, filling breakfasts. The Parisians are on more of a liquid diet. Their breakfast special (at the only place we found serving breakfast) consisted of 1 cup of coffee, 1 glass of orange juice, and your choice of a croissant or baguette. Thats it. No fruit, no yogurt, no turkey bacon with a side of scrambled eggs, nothing. It was good, but definitely not filling for me, or my poor 6'6" husband.

Anyways, back to the Eiffel. We had discussed potentially walking the stairs instead of waiting in line for the elevator if it was too crowded when we got there. Well, of course, by the time we arrived the line was hours long. So we started our climb. The way it works is: you can choose the elevator or stairs to levels 1 and 2. Once you reach level 2, the only way to get to the top is by elevator. I should mention that it was a very rainy, windy, and cold day.

694 stairs later, (!!!) we reached the 2nd floor. Nathan was barely even winded, but I was so ready to get on that elevator the rest of the way. We bought and paid for our lift tickets from the vending machine and started looking around for the line for the elevator to the top. After about 15 minutes wandering in circles, we found someone to ask directions. Turns out, the lift to the top is closed because of wind. Never mind the fact that they just allowed us to purchase and pay for tickets to ride said "closed" elevator. This was a very sad moment. How lame would it be to go all the way to Paris and not even see the top of the Eiffel Tower? Oh well, we had to carry on with our day.

The rest of the afternoon was stormy, so it was the perfect afternoon to spend inside the Louvre. An art museum might sound like a nice leisurely afternoon, but not the Louvre. After about 3 hours, both of our legs and feet were aching from how far we walked and we probably saw about 1/3 of the entire museum. Unbelievable.

Our night consisted of more walking (told you, city of stairs) up the side of a hill to see the famous Sacre Coure, or, Church of the Sacred Heart. The view was so worth it. We strolled by the Moulin Rouge and called it a night!