Hubs and I bright and early at the Eiffel Tower. We thought we were so clever by getting there early to "beat the crowds". Yeah, it's the world's most famous monument. There is no crowd-beating. |
And just when you thought I couldn't possibly share any more Parisian vacation photos, I load up some more. I'd apologize but this city is just too amazing not to share. I've also got a smattering of Germany photos as well...but I'll save that for a future update. For now, let's focus on La Tour Eiffel.
I'd read in my travel book that some of the best views of the tower are across the river Seine from the Jardins du Trocadero (that's be Trocadero Gardens to you). Turns out that every tourist on the planet owns a copy of said book as we encountered each and every one snapping away. But really, who could blame 'em? I mean, even naked statues gotta stop and stare.
By the way, since this is kind of a "what I wore" post: scarf: Target; sweater: made by me, DIY here; bird blouse: Old Navy; velvet pants: Anthropologie; boots: The Walking Company. We managed to get a couple of photos that didn't have a tourist or twenty in the view. It was actually fun watching them taking photos as they did all sorts of cheesy things like pretending to touch the top of the tower or holding it between their hands. I thought I was so above all that until hubs snapped this photo of me...
If I told you that this was completely unintentional, would you believe me? Seriously! I had turned my head to do some lipstick-on-my-teeth clearing when hubs snapped this shot. So it turns out I'm just as cheesy as the next tourist. As if that wasn't obvious.
Nothing can describe the awesomeness that is this tower. Nor can anything describe the insane amount of people there. Thankfully, I'd done a little homework and found that the line to climb the 669 steps to the second level, where one could purchase a ticket to the top, was significantly shorter than the two hour long straight-to-the-top elevator line. The trick was finding the correct line. If it's one thing I noticed about Paris, it's that they don't make anything easy. After asking a half dozen other confused tourists (bad idea, by the way), we found our way to the correct ticket booth and huffed it to the second level. Walking the steps of the Eiffel Tower was very exhilarating for me.
Once back on solid ground, we toured the Parc du Champ de Mars. Everything was blooming so beautifully.
We took a self-guided walking tour of the area which lead us to the apartment of Vincent van Gogh and the villa for homeless artists that once housed Renoir. I loved this area for it's steep roads and amazing views of Sacre-Coeur, the Church of the Sacred Heart. Since we had to leave our kitty at home, I wore her around Paris (which was met by more than a few odd glances). Crazy cat lady sweater diy here. |
What I really wanted to see where the artists at place du Tertre. In fact, before we even made it there, the caricature artists were walking the streets, looking for subjects to draw. One gentleman came up to hubs and said, "Ah! You look like van Gogh! Let me draw your picture." Needless to say, my van Gogh declined.