Going to Paris!!!

Today was the day we had decided on going to Paris and the Eiffel Tower. The weather was to be beautiful - sunny and mid seventies. We weren't as prepared or as rested as we should have been, but we were committed. We walked to Amiens train station - about 20 minutes - and we were there by 10:30AM. We successfully bought round trip tickets, carrying on the conversation mostly in French. There was a little confusion about choosing a return time, as the attendant was asking us to do, as we had already learned that you can basically use the tickets any time. You validate your ticket in these yellow machines right before you board the train and that puts the time on it. Anyway, the attendant nicely made sure that we knew about the machines (which we did) because otherwise we looked a little clueless. So good news was we had the tickets (about 70 euros or $100) for all of us, round-trip to Paris. The bad news was the next train was at noon. The trains to Paris run every hour at least during the week, but not on the weekend. Lesson learned.

So for about an hour Gwyneth and I walked back towards town and the outdoor Saturday market. The string to her pocketbook (aka purse) that she had been using for the trip broke. Last week she had seen a new one at one of the vendors that she liked and since her old one broke I decided that I could buy it rather than have her spend her allowance. It only cost 10 euros (less than $15) and you can sort of see it in the picture above. I thought it was quite nice and it has a lot of pockets. Nic is worried that it will encourage Gwyneth and her "collections" - especially scraps of paper of any kind. Anyways, Gwyneth and I made it back to the train station at noon for the 12:10PM departure. This particular train had rooms with 6 seats in them. After a little trouble figuring out the door (it slides rather than pushes or pulls) we got into one that had a passenger already. So he had the joy of listening to our kids jabber all the way, oh well. We arrived in Paris (in the Gare du Nord) by 1:30PM and we then had to make our way to the Eiffel tower. No small feat. At some point I said to Nic that we'll be at the tower by 3PM. He laughed but it turned out to be a correct prediction.



First step was to buy tickets for the Metro. We tried using an automated machine but it would not accept our credit card. We tried several times, much to the dismay of the guy behind us who sighed audibly several times, and then gave up. We then had a little trouble finding a human, but eventually did and had to wait in a line for 15 minutes at least. We ended up buying a carnet (or book) of 10 metro tickets for an adult and another for a child - which was half price - for Gwyneth. Ethan would be free. I think it cost $11 euro. And we wouldn't have to wait in any more lines. A single metro trip is 1.6 euro for an adult. A single ticket took you as far as you wanted to go on a single trip within the Metro. Next step was to get to the Eiffel Tower. We had to take the metro and then something called the RER which are the suburban trains but are still part of the Metro system within the city limits. Our metro line (4) was right at the train station and we easily found our line and took it for 4 or 5 stops I think. Of course walking through the Metro involved going through all sorts of tunnels and reading signs to make sure that you were going in the right direction.


Next we had to find the RER C train which again was easy to find. A train quickly arrived for our direction and we got on. The train was a funky double decker thing and the kids wanted to sit on stop so we did. The train proceeded to go 3 stops and then stop - lights out, engine off. Many people got off, but some stayed - the clueless ones like us. Nic wandered about and heard someone say 10 minutes, so we stayed on the train. The train moved, but curiously it was going back the direction we came from. We realized that the train was going back to where we started and when we got to the original stop we got off again. This time we were on the wrong side of the track so we had to exit and come back down on the other side and try again. Each time we entered or exited a train line we usually had to put our ticket (a 1x2 inch rectangle) into the machine which would open up doors to let you into the platform. Luckily we had been holding on to them. Anyway we got back to the platform and tried again. This time we noticed that that there were different trains coming, that were going to different destinations. We now saw the screen that was telling which stations the upcoming train was going to. We waited 5 minutes and got on the right train and about 8 stops later we were at the Tour Eiffel! All in all the Paris Metro reminded me of the Boston Subway and put me a bit out of my comfort zone, but I survived.



Here is our first view of the Eiffel Tower from the Metro station. Everyone was excited. I am sure that Gwyneth let out of big "wow". It was only a short walk to get under the tower and to the hoards of people. OMG it was crowded. We quickly assessed the line situation and determined that one was for stair access only to the 1st and 2nd levels. In the picture the 1st level is about two-thirds of the way up the height of the white building in front and the 2nd level is just above the top of the building. The other line that we could see was for elevator access up to all three levels. The 3rd level is way, way up at the top. Unfortunately one of the other elevators was out of service today so their was only one way up. We decided that we had come all of this way that we were going to the top, and the kids wanted to as well . At this point ..... the time ...... 3PM as predicted.






So here is the view of the line from above. Going backwards. It starts at the tower and then you have people zig-zigging through the barriers, then the security house, then the line snakes back like a mirror-image question mark and out of the photo. That is right where we started in the line. We think it was 1 1/2 hours of waiting in line. During that time, we hit the bathrooms and Gwyneth hit the souvenir shop for a snow globe and a surprise for Andrea. We took lots of photos of Tower looking up as we had time. The whole operation seemed to be a perfect model of French inefficiency. Once you snaked through the zig-zagged barricades you bought your tickets - just under the yellow awnings. But people had to leave the line, buy the tickets and then come back to the line. The space to actually get to the ticket window was quite small, so for much of the time no one would be at the ticket window or it was just 1 or 2 people.




We squeezed on like sardines to the elevator. Nic instructed Gwyneth on how to get a space next to the window (which she did). We took the elevator to the 2nd level which is where this picture was taken. This reminds me that somewhere down in that horrific line Ethan fell asleep in Nic's arm. And to give Nic credit he did most of the carrying. At this point he had needed a break and I took over a little. Anyway, we now had the pleasure of waiting in another queue!!!! We had to switch elevators to get to the 3rd level and so in line we got. It was probably another 1/2 and hour and involved squeezing onto another elevator. By this time I was so sweaty and stinky all I wanted was a shower!

So we made it to the top and the view was spectacular! Here is the Arc de Triomphe. Thankfully Ethan woke up upon arrival and he was happy to see the view. We circled the top several times although it was quite crowded. We had fun trying to pick out the sights down below - the Louvre, the Seine, etc..... We witnessed a guy proposing to his girlfriend or at least that is what we surmised given the tears and the small box that he was pulling out of his pocket. After a little while everyone was ready to go down and we waited in a much shorter queue back to level 2.




We then spent some time on level 2. Here is Ethan looking quite excited about being at the Tower. I think we hit another gift shop where Ethan added to his collection of "crazy straws from Europe". He has one other one from Norway. Then we decided to take the stairs down for a change of pace. We took them down to level 1 and did some walking around there. By this time the kids were hungry and it was near 6PM. Luckily this level had a cafeteria and we grabbed some decent sandwiches on baguettes. Gwyneth's hot dog consisted of 2 hot dogs stuffed into a baguette. She managed to eat half of it. Oh, and Ethan got a slice of pizza happily. We also got drinks as we had finished off the water that we had brought with us for the trip. (I had underestimated how much water the 4 of us can drink on a hot day in Paris). At some point during the dinner Gwyneth noticed that her snow globe had broken in side of the bag which was in her purse. I guessed that the trinket for Andrea had rubbed against it and broke it.



So I took the bag and Nic was almost incredulous when I returned with a replacement snow globe that I didn't pay for. I went back and said that they didn't pack it very well, and that we didn't drop the bag at all and that I thought they should give me a new one. It wasn't easy and the guy at the souvenir shop on this level didn't want to give it to me. He asked for the receipt which I couldn't find, but I was standing there with the broken globe in a bag that clearly came from the Eiffel Tower. Oh, and I made sure that Gwyneth was nearby. I wasn't giving up on and so I think to get rid of me he unhappily gave me a new one (but this time wrapped in bubble wrap!). So I am certain that I made my mother proud today. She is the queen of returning and getting replacements when she shouldn't.



By this time it was 7PM and we had a 9PM train to catch. Nic and I had previously decided that we should be on the Metro or near it by 8PM to be sure to have time. So we took a walk back to a different Metro station to get another view of the tower. We stopped for some ice cream - eaten with a a terrific view of the Eiffel Tower. We were also amused by all of the people selling "unofficial" Eiffel Tower souvenirs. Back when we were waiting in line under the tower we saw several people getting arrested for selling such things -we thought. And there were all these signs about selling "illegal/unofficial" souvenirs. Anyway, it was clear that it was cheaper on the outside but we did not partake. We had time for some last photos like this one, and then we were off to the Metro. The Metro ride was uneventful, if not long and crowded. We had time to spare at the train station and we boarded our train shortly after 9PM. This time the cars did not have the little rooms, just seats, and it seemed fairly empty. We got back to Amiens by 10:20PM and opted for the cab ride back to apartment. Well worth the 7 bucks!



Here is Ethan with his crazy straw on the train home. Anyways, once in the apartment at 10:30PM we clearly needed baths before anyone touched the sheets. I went first with Ethan and I think we managed bed time soon after 11PM. Of course, he was insisting that he wanted to watch a movie first. I convinced him otherwise. I'm not sure but I'll guess that Gwyneth and Nic followed soon after.