Date Night at the Eiffel Tower
We started off Thursday early with a ride on the Metro to the Sacre Coeur an old church that sits on the highest point in Paris. We were warned that the street vendors in this area were aggressive and we noticed the street vendors grabbing people’s wrists to put on bracelets and not letting go until they paid.
On our walk up the steps to the church a street vendor grabbed my (Rich’s) wrist and wouldn’t let go. I looked at him and said “No” but he wouldn’t let go. I was about to unleash 14 years of MMA training on him. Fortunately for him, he realized I was serious and let go. I understand these people are trying to make a living but many of them will pick your pockets while selling you goods. They also destroy the local economy that pays the funds to maintain the tourist attractions.
After that near incident we made it to the Sacre Coeur without a hitch. There was no line and very few tourists so we were able to walk through the church pretty quickly. We toured the crypt which was quite dark and a bit creepy and then climbed the 300 steps to the top of the Sacre Coeur. The 360 degree, panoramic view of Paris was amazing! We spend about a half our looking over the city and taking pictures before climbing back down. (pictures)
Once down, we walked around the town and stopped at the local shops before getting a bite to eat. For lunch, I had steak tartar (raw hamburger meet topped with raw egg). It was a meal I had wanted to try and finally found a place that looked like it served fresh steak tartar. It’s odd eating raw meat but the flavor and texture were great! I couldn’t help but think about all the raw hamburger meat I pressed at Bill Gray’s which didn’t help but I am sure the meat here is fresher. Or at least I hope so.
After lunch we took the Metro to Notre Dame. This place was packed so we decided to take pictures from the outside only. We walked around for a bit and stopped at a memorial dedicated to French citizens who were killed and deported to concentration camps during World War II. (pictures)
We took the Metro back to our guest house and rested up for a bit before heading back out to Paris for dinner. We ate dinner at a fancy restaurant next to the Eiffel Tower. The weather was nice enough to allow us to eat outside. The food was amazing and our view of the Eiffel tower made the evening special.
We finished dinner around 11pm and walked to the Eiffel Tower. We purchased tickets and road the elevators to the top. We arrived at the top just before 12am and were able to enjoy a great view of the Champs Elysees while the Eiffel Tower lit up with hundreds of sparkling lights midnight. It was quite easily our favorite moment in Paris. We departed the Eiffel Tower for our last time and hopped on the Metro for our hour long ride back home. (pictures)
View our pictures from today on flickr.
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