Arriving…can you see the stars in my eyes???

We walked the grounds, looking for the entrance.

 

It was somehow grander and more enormous than I ever imagined.

Mirah gave me this little paper before I left.

A good little thing for me to have while I am missing them.

Such an incredible place. SO many cool details. I never noticed/ knew there were names on the building. Of famous mathematicians and engineers.

We went in..LOOK AT ME AT EIFFEL TOWER!! IN the FALL! Ahh!

I was dying of needing to go to the bathroom. I will never forget the horrible bathrooms at the Eiffel tower.

We got in the line to get on the elevator.

It was tight in there, and there were SO many signs to look out for pick pockets everywhere.

Going up up up.

It was an amazing view. Breathtaking and familiar.

We got in line, again. And had a terrible interaction with a snobby French family. They all effectively cut us in line, and so every time we walked near them in the zig zaggy line Karl gave them a DEATH stare.

 

Up on the “top floor” Yes, the top of the Effiel tower!!

I just seriously love going to the top of a high building the first day in a new city. It really helps orient me in a new place.

The “secret apartment” on the top of the tower. That is Thomas Edison and Mr. Eiffel.

There is a bar up there too!!

Karl. Being Karl and cute.

One of my favorite things that happened the WHOLE trip, happened on our way down from the top.

  First, the elevators that take you from the middle platform to the tip top are very small, that’s why we had to wait in such a long line. Second, they PACK those things. It is like no room. SO when we got into the tiny elevator, I squeezed right up to Karl in a long romantic Effiel tower Paris romantic trip hug. Unfortunately a man who was just my height, stood facing his friend right behind me. When the door closed, it made is so we were squished, me and a French Stranger, butt to butt.

When I realized this, I whispered to Karl, “I am butt to butt with this man in the Salmon colored pants behind me” then started to giggle.” Karl said, “like a moon landing.” This only made me laugh harder. The man started to feel my giggle jiggle and as I finally started to stop laughing, he started to laugh, and his giggle jiggled me!

It was a vicious cycle of uncontrollable laughter at this point, and everyone in the tiny elevator knew what was happening at this point and by the time we got to the second platform to get off, everyone including the elevator operator were laughing historically. Laughter, and butts really are the universal language.

We took our last looks, then got on the second elevator down.

As we returned to the ground, we visited a temporary exhibit celebrating 130 years since the tower’s construction.

We crossed the bridge to get on the train, and head back to our hotel. We had walked MILES and were starting to feel tired. BUT still SO happy.

The light turned on…

A block from our hotel, we found a shop that interested Karl:

We went back to the hotel, to relax for a minute before going back out for some dinner. You will see, ALL that Karl wanted in the whole wide world was street food. Luckily Paris had LOTS. So for our first night he found a very highly rated Fallafel House.

We exxplored the neighborhood a little. The streets were full of people, we found ourselves in a Jewish neighborhood and found a DELICIOUS Jewish bakery. Wonderful croissants, and one delicious pan au chocolate.

Very french grafitti.

We crashed at like 9:30.