La Tour Eiffel
Naturally, the first thing I did in Paris was climb to the top of the famous 117 year old, 324 meter metal structure that looms over the city. Not by means of the 1665 steps, though. Are you kidding me? I paid that 11 Euro for the elevator to tote me up to the top. Packed though we were into the elevator, I pushed my way to get a spot at the window so I could film my ride as I ascended the tower.
It was amazing! I didn’t think it would be that exciting and didn’t realize how gorgeous the view from the top is! I just figured I had to go because I was in Paris and it was something to check off my list of things to see. But, I guess because my expectations were low, it made exceeding them all the easier! I could have stayed up there all day! But, the cold and Ali’s fear of heights prevented us from doing so.
For those of you who’ve never been, first, you choose a line to wait in for about an hour. Three of the legs of the tower are equipped with elevators, and the last leg (South Pillar) allows the more adventurous and budget-minded people to climb the stairs to the middle level of the tower for free. We opted for the elevator, which first dropped us off at Level 2 (115 meters up), where we could take in the view from all sides of the tower. The city of Paris is huge! I had no idea how big, white, and pretty it was! After some mouth-gaping and picture taking, we waited in the line to continue our ride to the top viewing deck. This ride was a little nerve-racking, standing next to the glass windows right by the elevator door, moving straight up, rather quickly, and watching the city fly by. I was glad to be filming and watching through the camera lens, because when I looked out directly, a little shiver went down my spine.
Then we stepped out into the covered, enclosed area where we could see the amazing view from an even higher point! Then I went up the little flight of stairs to the open air viewing point, although it was enclosed like a cage with bars to prevent things—or people—from falling off the tower. Even though it was cold and windy at the top, I loved it! I just kept going around the circular viewing deck, and couldn’t get enough of the view and how high up I was! I especially got a feel for how high we were when I aimed my camera towards the ground and zoomed all the way down to ground level; it was a video of what it’d be like to fall from the tower, I suppose—haha! I also took a couple of pictures of the view straight down the side of the tower, which are pretty amazing!
I didn’t want to leave, but we had to get on with our day, and we needed to get Ali back on the ground! So, using the view as a map—we actually found the L’Arc de Triomphe out the window at the top of the Eiffel Tower—we plotted our course to see this famous monument next. Then we descended the tower and said Au Revoir to the golden statue of Mr. Eiffel himself!
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