Eiffel Tower

It is many many miles from LA to Astypalaia, with so many interesting things to see in between. This year we decided to stop in Paris for a few days, to take in the sights and the food. I had never been into the city before, but I had been to the airport almost a dozen times. Andrea has been in Paris several times and has kindly acted as my tour guide.

Unfortunately it will be quite gray and rainy for our entire stay in Paris.  However, today we braved the rain and went all the way to the top of the Eiffel Tower. To celebrate our soggy accomplishment, which involved standing in some lengthy lines, we each had a glass of champagne at the summit. Yes, they have a small champagne bar at the very top of the tower.

We gleaned some facts about the tower from our tour guide, including that the structure is painted Eiffel Tower Brown, but that over the years it has also been yellow and red.  Remnants of red and yellow paint are still evident all over the tower. We also learned that the first elevators in the structure were water powered, but they switched to electricity because in the winter the water froze over making the elevators inoperable.

Do yourself a favor and purchase a skip the line ticket if you want to visit the Eiffel Tower. We got through security and onto the first level elevator in half and hour.  If you try to buy a ticket on site you will wait in line for several hours to get your ticket and then you will have to get into the security line.  Lines = no fun.

As you can see from the photos, it is quite overcast in Paris.  One of these shots is the Ponte Alexander III, the one with the golden sculptures, over the Seine.  The other image is of the Notre Dame Cathedral.  Both were taken in the rain from the top level of the tower.

More soon.