22 July

Today was a random sort of day, since we've completed our list of targeted sites. We tried repeatedly to rent the community bikes that are scattered all over town, but finally determined that it just can't be done unless your credit card has a chip in it. We didn't bring such a card with us, so we're destined to walk.

We passed through the Eiffel Tower area on the way to the Palais de Chaillot, then walked around the Trocadéro area for a bit before stopping at the grocery store and fixing supper in the condo. Janene started trying to buy BritRail passes on the internet and soon realized that she should have started the process many days ago. We are in communication with a couple of possible sources and still have hope, but the odds are dwindling.

When we went to the Tower for our 2230 summit reservations, we were surprised to find virtually no peddlers about. We did notice a larger police presence than we had ever seen, and we saw some officers carrying a confiscated trinket kit. We guess that the peddlers got so numerous and so bothersome that the authorities cracked down and rousted them from the area. I confirmed with a tower employee that they are "very illegal." The peddlers can be an annoyance, and I'm sure everything they sell is junk, but they do add somewhat to the experience. I suppose it's a sad commentary on the state of things that able-bodied men, at least some of which would probably rather be doing real work, are reduced to this sort of activity to survive. Or maybe they are just sorry layabouts and I'm a soft-hearted sap; it could go either way. But back to the Tower.

We stood in line to present our reservation tickets to the first guard, walked through a short maze, showed them to the elevator usher, jammed into an elevator with about twenty of our newest, closest friends, and ascended to the first platform. There, we got in the long, long (40 minutes) line for the elevator to the top. It is a LONG WAY TO THE TOP! Once there, we found the views to be truly amazing. We took a short set of stairs up to the highest public area and joined a happy throng in taking each other's pictures. Even though it seemed calm on the ground, it was very windy and cool at the top. Fortunately, we had the foresight to take jackets. We stood in lines just about as long to catch the elevators down as we did to go up, but we were back on Terra Firma by 12:15 a.m.

condo view

condo pool

Where's... Charlie?

Eiffel Tower summit

reservation tickets

5:34 pm

9:59 pm

seized trinkets	looking up	a different angle	going up
first platform	still a ways to go	Janene on first platform	top of the Tower
Janene at the top	Joe at the top	Janene & Joe at the top	view toward condo
Tower beam over Arc	Arc & Passerelle Debilly	Passerelle Debilly & Pont de l'Alma	Gustav Eiffel's 'secret' apartment
Tower beam over the Seine	Dôme des Invalides	Eiffel Tower Lights video (7s, 1.7MB)	12:18 am