Eiffel Tower Times Two

One of the great things about being spontaneous is that we don't have to follow a plan and we can adjust on the fly. The weather is bad, lets do indoor things today. The downside is that occasionally we can't do what we want (sold out/full, long lines, etc.) or things cost more. 

We don't have a reservation to the Eiffel Tower summit. The internet tells me to arrive 30-45 before they open for the shortest wait. We are up at a reasonable time. We eat our bananas. I don't think I need a picture of that. I think we are on time but we get to the metro a little later than I want. It takes awhile to find the right track. Finally we are on board. The travel time is slightly longer than scheduled.  What does that all mean?  We get to the tower 15 minutes before it opens. 

So we arrive at 9:15 am. There are three lines. I know we don't want the walk up line. I have Aparna wait in one and I check with information. The line we are in is ok. The line starts moving at 9:35 am. We get our tickets at 9:51. We walk past the 20 minutes wait sign so I'm optimistic. We get to the second floor at 9:59 and head directly to the summit elevator. We board at 10:06. We reach the summit at 10:08. Not too bad.

It's a little hazy now. I'm sure it would have been clearer later in the day but as we look down the ticket line is already growing. 

10:43 we leave the summit for the second floor. The champagne bar is closed at the top. 

Breakfast on the second floor. We finish at 11:31

We decide to by a museum pass so we head back to the tourist office. Not the greatest use of time. We were just in this area yesterday. If we thought about it then we could have picked it up then and saved ourselves time. Our spontaneity is a bad thing in this case. We get our pass and the guy recommends we stop at Orsey Museum since we have to pick up the train there. As we walk there I'm looking for a sandwich shop so we can get lunch to go. A lot of places are closed since it's Sunday. 

We get to the museum and see some impressive art works. 

It's a quick stop as we have a long train to Versailles.  

I figure we'll see a sandwich place in the train station as I've seen them before. Nope. So we eat a waffle from a vending machine since we are starving.

We board the train only to figure out its not the right one. Our first wrong train. Fortunately it's going in the right direction. We get off at the next stop to find out train is seven minutes out. We hop aboard and I manage to nap. 

We find a shawarma place. That should be fast. Except the person in front of us orders for eight. They only appear to do sandwiches here and not wraps. 

I was so hungry I took a bite before taking the picture. 

By the time we are done eating, a half hour has gone by since we arrived. Big line at the main gate for bag check. Another big line at the palace for security there. We are finally in and it's spectacular.

It takes a long time to go through the place and it's around 4:30 now. We head to the gardens as it says it closes at 6:00 pm. Ugh our pass is only good at the palace not the garden. Another line. This takes us to just after five. We head over to the Neptune fountain for the music show. 

It's a little disappointing as its just the fountains going and music. I suppose these are old and they didn't have the ability to turn them on and off rapidly to choreograph to music. 

Aparna was ready to go after the fountain show but I convince her we paid and should stay. I think closes at six means no more entry after six. We wander the gardens until a little after 6. No one is kicking us out and no one else seems to be in a hurry to leave. We finish the last of our half liter of water and we still thirsty.  I know it's not 90 and humid but a can of coke and a half liter is probably not enough for a half day for two people. I buy a bottle of water at the onsite cafe. It's 3 euros. Now I know I'm a captive audience but wow. I pay the man. 

We head back to Paris and find a bistro based on stay.com. It's reasonable priced. They place all the foreigners in the cafe and seat regulars outside. 

Croque Madame - finally some real food today. 

Plat de jour - was roast chicken. 

Apple tart for dessert. It's really thick. 

I picked this stop as its between the Arc de Triomphe and the Eiffel Tower. We decide we are too dead to see the Arc and Aparna really wants to see the Eiffel Tower lit up. We make the quick walk back to the tower. It's still light behind the tower at 9 so we wait about a half hour. 

Bon soir!

Food cost for the day is about $92. 

Steps are 27.3k and over 10 miles.