Thanksgiving Vacation 2012 - Paris Day One

It is usually the second night on an overseas trip that I get the worst sleep, and yes, once again I woke up at 4 AM and didn't get back to sleep until 7 AM and my alarm went off at 8 AM. Well, there's plenty of time to sleep when I get back home, so begins my first full day in Paris. We met for breakfast in the hotel and opted for the full buffet, where all the food was tasty. Since today was going to be the sunniest day of the week, with rain forecasted for the next day, we agreed to head straight to the Eiffel Tower. The rest of my family had been to the Eiffel Tower eight years before when it was cloudy and had no good views of the city. So out the door and off to the nearest Metro station we headed.

It took three Metro lines to get us there, but we probably could have made it in two if we looked at the map more carefully. A short walk from the Eiffel Tower Metro station and there it was. Finally I got to see the famous tower, and like I was told, it was much bigger than you'd expect. We headed straight to the ticket line which really wasn't that long. Once we got our ticket and through security we queued up for the next elevator, which takes you to the lower platform where you have to stand in line to take  another lift to the top. There are signs everywhere warning you about pick-pockets, and apparently they all wear red because the photos show a red person reaching into unsuspecting people's backpacks.

They pack you in tight in the elevators but it wasn't too bad, and the lifts go up surprisingly fast. Now I have acrophobia (fear of heights) and I was a little nervous at first, but once I got to the top I was so amazed with the view I ignored how high up I was. So the first order of business is to get a photo of yourself at the top, which I did, and then walk around to all sides taking plenty of pictures of the city. You get a great view of the city and can see the different districts, parks and downtown buildings. It was also cold and windy, so finding protection from the wind was wise. Then back inside where it was warm I visited the conveniently located gift shop and bought my usual souvenir magnet that best represents the city. After we had our fill of the top we look the elevator back down, getting off by mistake on a mid-level section, where I snapped a few more photos before getting the next lift to the bottom. Then we walked towards the grassy park area where you have a good, unobstructed view of the tower and took more photos.


Upon my sister's suggestion, we walked to the Seine River to go on a one hour boat ride, but then decided to buy tickets for the Boat Bus, a hop-on-hop-off boat that stopped at eight major sites, including Notre Dame and near our hotel. The boat runs about every 15 minutes, so it didn't take long before we boarded the glass enclosed boat. You had a great view of the buildings along the Seine, but if you wanted to take any photos you needed to go outside in the back where it was cold. I stayed inside. Once we reached the Notre Dame stop we disembarked and walked to the site. Entrance to the inside of the cathedral was free. It is an active church and they keep visitors away from the church goers, and there are signs everywhere reminded you to be silent. It is very large inside, probably the largest cathedral I've been in. The walls are decorated with stained glass windows which sparkle when the sun shines through. After making a full circle inside we then headed to the entrance to the tower. We realized it was past lunch time, and if we were going to climb 425 stairs we needed some food. So after a quick snack we got in line. It took about 15 minutes before we were let in, as they limit the number of people to prevent overcrowding in the narrow staircases and walkways.

Somehow the trip to the top of the tower didn't feel like 425 steps, but you go up in sections so it is broken up. They should warm people at the beginning that you really do need to be fit and not overweight, because some of the passages were very tight. Luckily I saw no one get stuck. Once we got near the top of the tower the line stopped for about 10 minutes. There is limited room on the tower and once again they need to let one group off before letting the next group in.

Just like the Eiffel Tower, you have a great view of Paris and I took plenty of photos. After our allotted time was up we made the hike back down which is done all in one staircase. Even with the hikes I had been doing at home in the weeks before taking this trip, my legs were really feeling the stress of all the towers and domes I'd been up so far. Yes, there were more towers to tackle. We then walked back to the boat launch and hopped on the next boat for the ride to the stop near our hotel. Now I believe that this is when we discovered the Christmas market along the Champs Elysees. We didn't spend much time here as we planned to come back later in the trip, but my sister and I stayed long enough to buy some Gluhwein. We walked back up the street to our hotel for a much needed break. We had been walking and moving about all day and needed to rest before going out to dinner.

My job for the trip was to find a restaurant, or brewery, that served local beer, and luckily I had found one not too far away by Metro. It was also my job to figure out what Metro lines to take go get there. That turned out to be harder than expected. I spent 40 minutes of our hour long break to figure out the best way there. The maps of Paris are hard to read and there are many little street that run in funny angels to the main roads. But the planning paid off. It took us two lines to get to the stop and the place was just around the corner. It was called the Frog and Rosbif, part of a local chain called Frog Pubs.

We were there early for dinner, as I'm told Europeans tend to eat later in the evening than us Americans, so there were only a few people inside, which was actually nice. Our waitress was very friendly and spoke English well enough. Looking at the menu, both my sister and I started with a pint of their darkest beer, the Dark de Triomphe, yes a play on words. And yes, it was a really good beer! For food I opted for the cheeseburger, and should have asked for it to be cooked well done, because it was so rare I heard it go "mooo". The second beer I had was the Parislytic, a very mild but malty beer. Once we got our check and paid, I wanted to explore the neighborhood. It had a much different vibe than the Champs Elysees, and I spotted a pedestrian only street that curved off in the distance. Not really knowing what direction we were headed, I assumed that we'd find a Metro stop along the way. This street had lots of shops, some of which made us feel like we were in a red-light district, and we may have been. But my sense of direction turned out to be good, and we ended up at the Metro stop that we had used to transfer trains on the way to the Frog Pub. So back on the Metro to our hotel stop we went.

It was after 9 PM by now, and that meant time for bed. We were all very tired but had a full day of exploring Paris. So once again be planned to meet for breakfast in the morning.