We had a late breakfast, and weren't really hungry at lunchtime, but we went ahead and took the Metro to Rue Cler, where we picked up lunch at the same place as last time (Jeusselin). John and Matt had rolled sandwiches, with ham, lettuce, tomato, mayo, and probably some other stuff. I had a quiche Lorraine, and Beth had the feuilletine. At the produce market across the street, we bought more currants, and a peach for me (since I don't like currants). Our sodas came from a Carrefour supermarket around the corner as we walked to the Champs de Mars for a picnic.
Our Eiffel Tower appointment was at 1:30, so we had a leisurely lunch in the park, then used the restrooms at the base before getting into the line "avec reservations." MUCH shorter than the line of people without reservations. I was able to make the reservations online a few days ago, and show them the PDF on my iPhone, since I don't have a printer with me. They had a special scanner to read the barcode on the iPhone screen
The first elevator, from the ground to the second level, was a two-story elevator. On the side is a statue of an elevator operator:
Once we got to the second level, John and Matt tried to talk us out of getting in line for the ride to the summit, since it was rather cold and windy. (And they don't like heights, especially Matt.) Beth and I both insisted we needed to go to the top--we both wanted to see the view, and I had already paid to ride to the summit, and didn't want to waste the money. So we got in line. It kind of reminded me of the lines at Disneyland. First, the lines wind around the edge of the platform. Once they start to curve into the center, you think you're getting closer, then you realize that the line snakes back and forth multiple times. Once you finally get through that line and past the ticket taker, you have to wait in a short line to get on one of the four elevators.
The view from the top was great! Definitely worth waiting in a couple of lines.
After we descended, we crossed the Seine on the Pont d'Iena. The paths and bridges around the Eiffel Tower are thronged with guys selling cheap souvenirs. Each of them has a little square piece of cloth with dozens of tower models neatly arranged. We found out today why they use these little square cloths. Some kid was running up the bridge passing the word that the police were coming, and every single one of the peddlers immedately grabbed the strings on the four corners, making the cloth into a bag, and sprinted down the bridge away from whoever was coming.
We rested for a moment in the Trocadero Gardens before heading out to our next stop:
The Arc du Triomphe:
The Arc was bigger than we had imagined. We've all seen pictures of it, but it just looks bigger in real life. We were also very impressed with the driving around the Arc. It's at the center of a large roundabout, but cars were exiting at all sorts of angles, simply cutting off the other cars in the way!
We strolled up the Champs-Elysées for a while, stopping for ice cream at Haagen Dazs. I had vanilla caramel brownie, Beth had mango, John had chocolate something (surprise, surprise), and I can't remember what Matt had.
After we returned to the B&B, we played a couple of hands of hearts. We didn't keep score this time, but we're pretty sure Matt lost, as he ended up with the Queen of Spades several hands in a row.
For dinner, we walked to Au Bistrot de la Place, another Rick Steves recommendation. (John has been teasing me for my reliance on "Ricky," but he's also admitted that we haven't ever had a bad meal when going by the guidebook.)
We began with an appetizer of squid sauteed with thyme, served with a green salad with vinagrette, and Beth had a fresh vegetable soup with garlic bread:
For dinner, John and Beth had grilled entrecote with fries and salad:
Matt had grilled salmon with mixed vegetables:
and I had duck parmentier with a green salad:
For dessert, Beth had chocolate cake with raspberry sauce and vanilla ice cream:
Matt and I had crepes with sugar:
and John had creme brulee:
Another delicious dinner, followed by showers, our daily laundry (hopefully the last), and now bedtime.
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