We decided to give the Hop on Hop off bus a try and a pickup point was reasonably close by at the Opera House, so off we went except for Tony who wanted to walk in the steps of Cadel Evans along the Champs De Lessee up to the Arc De Triumph. It was further than I thought and was glad for the bus ride. The traffic was just as you see it in the movies etc just a free for all. Fortunately there was a subway that you could use to get those last 50 metres under the roundabout.
Back on the rouge car to the Eiffel Tower we had booked our tickets for 12 noon and went in right on time, we were up to the second level pretty quick and it was a bit hectic getting out, I reckon another pick pocket had a go at my camera bag as I felt that now familiar little jiggle and when I looked down I could see a hand but it was that crowded it took me a couple of seconds to associate it with a person, when I did I just looked him straight in the eye and he apologized straight away and before I could challenge him he was gone in the crowd, so quick.
The tower was awesome, you go up to level 1 and think yeah that's a pretty cool view, then level 2 and you think, yeah, that's pretty high. You swap lifts and you just keep going up and up and up. When we got up to the observation deck I swear you could feel the tower moving, I really wasn't very comfortable. On the way back down Tony and I were on the deck below the top and we both saw something small fall from above. We waited for the girls for ages and when they finally did appear we found out that Karen had lost a lens and filter off the end of her camera and she was frozen with fear that it had hit some one. When we got down to level 2 we went and checked and there was no sign of it, so we can only assume that it got smashed on the way down. Tony, Karen and Jude walked down from level 2 and they beat Max and I to the bottom.
We then walked across the Seine to the Trocaderro which is a great photo opportunity of the tower. Some coffees and then back on the bus to Opera.
The girls went shopping while Tony and I went looking for a place for tea, which we did find, and managed to have a couple of beers on the way home. Most of the restaurants and cafes are on the smaller side streets and you eat outdoors, which in Australia is not such a problem but over here a lot of the locals smoke, so this place was indoors for a change.
This would be our last tea together as tomorrow night Tony, Max and Karen would be at Moulin Rouge, so it was a bit special. And it was a great night too, best ice cream I've ever had! |
Nioe
