Whirlwind Paris trip - Saturday (Eiffel Tower)

Saturday morning we got a late start. I slept 12 hours and could have easily slept several more. The lack of sleep and 5 hour time change had hit me pretty hard. Once I was up I felt great though, so off we went.

Our first priority was food. We found a cafe nearby and sat outside. We had a beautiful brunch, and I had a fancy coffee that put Starbucks to shame. Really. It was that good. I think they put crack in the whipped cream or something like that.

After eating we decided to head to the Eiffel Tower. The weather was beautiful, so we chose walking over the metro. It ended up being a bit farther away than we expected though, so our stroll took about 90 minutes. No problem, there was a lot to see on the way!

As I was fiddling with the settings on my camera, Jason heard what he thought was running water. We looked over the ledge and saw a guy peeing in the corner. Nice. The best part? He was about 10 feet from a public bathroom.

A little further down the road we were waiting at the crosswalk for the light to change. A delivery bike came screaming by the opposite way. The sound of screeching tires followed. The first several cars missed him, but the last one got him. He hit the front of the car and sushi went flying all over the road. He clearly didn't see the error of his ways, because he immediately began screaming at the driver. I was going to take a picture but another car blocked my view and I didn't want to be too obvious.

We were almost to the Eiffel Tower when a man exclaimed "Look! A gold ring!" We turned around and saw him picking what looked like a men's wedding band off the ground. He excitedly showed it to Jason and I and then said he wanted to give it to us because it wouldn't fit him. We told him he should keep it since he found it. He insisted. We insisted. He insisted again and said since he was giving the ring to us maybe we could spare some money so he could buy lunch. That is when we caught onto him.

We rounded the corner and were standing under the Eiffel Tower. Wow. What an amazing sight! We walked around and took some pictures (of course) and then got in line. It was a pretty long wait but totally worth it. The city is much bigger than I realized, a sea of buildings as far as I could see. Eventually our tummies told us it was time to leave, so down we went.

This time we searched for a cafe with crepes. Because you are supposed to eat crepes in Paris, right? Jason had a chocolate one and I had one with cheese and mushrooms. I wish I had gotten the chocolate too. But that's ok, I ended up with part of the chocolate one anyhow.

My observations from Saturday:
1. Street vendors in Paris are confused about the word "bling".
2. I am unable to walk more than 5 steps without taking a photo when I am somewhere cool. (This is actually Jason's observation.)
3. Motorcycle parking in Paris can be any flat surface. Anywhere on the sidewalk is just fine.
4. Scam artists in Paris are a bit more creative than I'm used to.
5. Parisian chocolate mousse is truly spectacular.
6. The Louvre and the Eiffel Tower are pretty darned far apart.
7. It is customary to yell at someone in Paris when they hit you because of your mistake.
8. It is wise to do a good bit of research before traveling to a foreign country so you know what in the heck you are looking at. This helps reduce the number of times you say "Oh cool! What is that?"
9. Ancient artifacts are perfectly normal and expected in busy intersections in Paris.
10. Tips are included when dining in Paris. No need to add extra.

Oooh la la - Photos from Paris

Tomorrow I'll wrap up our trip with memories from the Louvre.