Eiffel Tower Day 8

A late start. Breakfast down stairs. What? Again? No toast with a Euro breakfast. Oh well, croissants and pastries and corn flakes will have to do. Back on to the road. We are probably walking around 3-5 hours a day at the moment. Really enjoying this aspect of our trip. We head for Sebastopol Boulevard. The French have a Boulevard for every occasion. We aim ultimately for the Seine. How good is this? And there it is, the geographical centre of Paris, Notre Dame. Can’t get over the size of this icon and the intricate ornamental work on the outside. This seems to be one of the themes in Paris, …………….big, detailed and prominent.

We walk up to love lock bridge. We buy a lock, write our names on the front and I throw the keys into the Seine. A strange ritual geared to the viability of the locksmith industry. Next stop the Louvre. No Mona Lisa viewing for us today on the part of queues. Unbelieveable. In actual fact I saw the sonic equivalent of the Mona Lisa last night. We stop by the Seine for a pizza and a bit of people gazing. A bit of retail therapy ensues. Can’t get over the number of beggars on the streets. All beggars need a marketing angle now. The current marketing angle is to have a cute little dog, so money goes to the dog who then passes the money on to the beggar. Brilliant. The other strategy that I saw yesterday was straight out of the begging handbook, page 23………just get a fishing pole and put a cup on the end of it. Innovative stuff. I’ve also seen families bedding down for the night on the streets, with their animals. Whoa.

Back to the hotel. Scrub up for dinner at the Eiffel Tower. We order a taxi. The driver is a classic. West Indian? Blah, blah , blah is how he describes politics in France. Very funny guy. We get to the Tower and, mon dieu, what a sight. We were both blown away by the scale of the thing. Very wary of pick pockets. Signs everywhere about this. Keep ur wallet secured dude……….or something. Nerve racking. We get into the lift and up we go to the first level. We wait to be called up some stairs to the restaurant. Up we go. The view from our spot is extraordinary. A glass of champagne is supplied, with some Evian. Meal wise we go for Smoked Salmon and filleted Chicken. I opt for the cheeses and Sue opts for the moose. Great atmosphere. Great views particularly with the lights on. We head back down in the lift both shaking our heads and notice the giant Roland Garos tennis ball suspended within the Tower. Evening over. Back to our digs at the Arts Metiers precinct.