Parisian Paradise - Part II: The Eiffel Tower

Upon arriving at our hotel Friday afternoon at 5pm, after way too long in transit than I ever care to calculate, we were extremely tired. And did I mention that it was absolutely FREEZING in Paris? Even the locals we talked to said that is was colder than they remember it ever being. Our guide books all said that winters in Paris mean a lot of rain, but never snow. But there was snow on the ground when we got there and snow on the ground when we left.

Yeah - it was cold.

Anyway, we decided that we had to brave the weather and do something that evening, in order to stay awake until a reasonable bedtime and get our bodies on track for the rest of the trip. So the four of us hopped on the metro and headed to Trocadero to get a glimpse of the Eiffel Tower. Our first glimpse was actually while we were on the metro, and we were like giddy little school children - oohing and aahing (ahhing? awing?). I think it was that moment when all four of us realized that we were really in Paris! Anyway, the other metro passengers just rolled their eyes at us. But I'm sure it's not the first time they've seen tourists act like that.

We got off the metro and walked through the frigid chill and bitter cold wind to get to the Eiffel Tower, and it was definitely worth it.

We even caught the tower at the top of the hour, which meant that we got to see it sparkle:


After walking all around and through the tower, we decided it was time for dinner. (And since you're probably wondering - no, we didn't go up to the top of the tower. Like I said, it was FREEZING and the wind was howling - definitely not the right weather to be at the top of a tall tower.) We walked around and found a Rick Steeves recommendation for our first dining experience. We started our meal with an appetizer of melted goat cheese over bread. Then, Deidra and I shared some beef bourguignon over rice, while Whit and Brian shared a dish of chicken and mashed potatoes. Then we all shared some chocolate cake for dessert.

And, as if that wasn't enough, we stopped at a grocery market on the way home and got a couple of chocolate bars to share:


After returning to the hotel and sampling our new chocolates (the Lindt Creme Brulee was the hands-down winner), we quickly settled down for a much-needed good night's rest.