Day 2

Today started a bit earlier and better than yesterday!  Our plan for the day was to go to the Eiffel Tower and the Louvre.  As I sat down to look through my Rick Steves’ guide…the words almost shouted at me from the page…and I quote “Frankly, you’d be crazy to show up without a reservation.”  I was crushed.  I hastily went on the official website and they had nothing.  We looked at expensive tours, more of the same!  Finally we found at tour that would get us in, it cost us 120 euro, but we would not have to wait in line.  We thought about it and weighed our options, and decided to just go for it (and the real reason is that Russ is a tightwad!).  Not only would this be a risk, but we also were going to have to take the metro for the first time from Montmartre!

Russ, being the techno geek that he was, got the metro directions on his phone…and off went the three crazy American tourists.  Now I must insert here that nobody we have encountered thinks that I am American! Normally,  I would think that this is a good thing, but honestly it is embarrassing!  Most people think I am Italian or French…awesome right?  Except that now I realize I am a high school French flunky…and Italian…forget about it!  So as they take away my English menu or ramble to me in another language…I end up looking like a pathetic deer in the headlights! It is actually quite hilarious…if you are not me!

Down into the bowels of Paris we descend, ready to face the metro head on!  We did okay (with a bit of help from the information center).  As luck would have it, as we get off the metro we discover it is raining!  Now the one exception to Rick Steves’ warning is that when it rains the lines for the Eiffel Tower evaporate.  Oh how right he was!  We had to wait for about 10 mins and up we went.  The view was a bit compromised, and yes we got wet…but it was worth it!  We took the elevator all the way to the top!  I could not get over how impressive and massive the Eiffel Tower is.  This beautiful icon, with such an interesting history and background!  I still can’t believe that I actually got to see it!