Knowing it would be crowded, we left the hotel in plenty of time to arrive at the Eiffel Tower before it even opened. We waited in line that really wasn't very long for an elevator to take us to the 2nd level. It was bit overcast and grey, but the worst part was fending off the strange men who peddle their crap to everyone in line. Primarily they are selling cheap models of the tower, in different sizes. You get to pick 3 or 4 for just 1 Euro! Such a deal. Until the thing breaks or you get lead poisoning from it. Anyway, they were EVERYWHERE and don't seem to take a hint in any language.
Those of you that know me probably know that I hate elevators. I hate riding in them, seeing them, hearing them, anything. It all goes back to an episode of a TV show called Probe (but that's another story). So riding 3 elevators to 1000 feet is not my favorite. But, I did pretty well. I knew a great deal of the history about the building of the tower, and Otis' contribution to it. The ride was very smooth, and I just concentrated on the engineering of it all, rather than the fact I was stuck in a box climbing a structure.
That said, the views were great, and it really is an impressive structure.
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| Yep, we're going even higher. |
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| Apparently, pickpockets are red in France. Very convenient. |
We rode the elevator back to the second floor, then walked down the stairs from the 2nd floor to the 1st level. I highly recommend using the stairs at some point. You can see the iron work as well as get a great view of the elevator system.
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| Oh yeah. By the way, it's brown. Had no idea. |
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| A very expensive restaurant in the tower |
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| As I took this one, I got a few weird looks... and some copycats. |
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| Walking down Le Seine |
More from our afternoon in the next post.
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