From sea level to the top of the Eiffel Tower

Jacob Redding — Fri, 18 Jun 2004 14:54:00 +0000

Friday:

On Friday morning we were awoken, yet again, by the sound of the oh-so-lovely church bells. Although they were incredibly annoying it was actually very neat and an awesome experience to be awoken by church bells that have rang for over a hundred years.

Driving back to Paris:

Amanda and I decided that instead of driving the highways back to Paris that we would instead drive along the coast so that we could check out both Gold and Juno beach. We stopped at both and other than the war museums (which we did not go into) they didn?t have anything special going on. They were both very quick stops. So on we went to Paris.

This time we were very familiar with the highways and the drive back was much more leisurely, mainly because we were not lost every 5 minutes. Just like the rental car agencies in the states we were required to return the car with the same amount of gas so we needed to stop for gas. The great thing about France is that a rest stop consists of not only restrooms but also gas stations and cafeterias, so we were able to stop for gas and food a perfect combination.

Price of Gasoline: 1.10 euros/gallon or 5.00 US dollars/gallon (after exchange)
Ya I?d say it?s a bit more expensive over here for gas.

Alright so we stopped got gas, ate some food and then headed back for Paris (by the way typical lunch price is approximately 5-7 euros excluding a drink which is another 2-3 euros for a US small coke or a Euro large coke, umm? same size). Once we entered the city limits of Paris driving became quite fun. Europeans drivers drive so well, motorcyclists (of which there are many) drive in between the lanes, the on-ramps are competitions and a safe driving distance is approximately 2 to 3 feet at 90k/hr. It wasn?t so bad because the car can stop on a dime. After visiting a car dealership later in the week I discovered that a lot of car have 4 wheel disc brakes (instead of the traditional drum brakes), I?m not sure if our car had 4 disc brakes but either way it stopped very well.

We dropped the car off at the airport and headed out for the centre of Paris via the RER and Metro train lines. 3 train transfers, a one block hike and one hour later we had made it from terminal 3 of the Charles De Gaulle airport to our hotel. The hotel was more like a hostel. Our room was on the first floor (in Europe floors start at 0, so 1 is the US 2). The room was probably about 10x12 feet in diameter and I am not exaggerating. There was enough room for a queen size bed, a small sink and our backpacks/suitcases and just enough room to walk around the bed. It was very tiny. But hey at less than 20 euros a night what do you expect? The price was right and I wasn?t planning on spending much time in the Hotel room anyways.

We arrived at the hotel room at approximately 1 or 2 pm (13hr or 14hr) and threw our bags in the room and headed out the door. Our first destination was, of course, the Eiffel tower. We hopped on the Metro (Paris? subway) and got off at the closest stop to the Eiffel tower. After taking several pictures from the bottom of the Eiffel tower we decided to go to the top. The cost was 10.40 euros/each, fairly pricey for an elevator ride.

Have I ever mentioned that I am afraid of heights?

Honestly, I am completely afraid of heights and just in case you didn?t know the Eiffel tower is freakin tall!! Ya I was pretty freaked out, I overcame my fears and got on the elevator anyways. The view from the top (after I calmed myself out) was amazing, you can see all of Paris and it was simply amazing. Don?t worry I took so many pictures that you can practically stitch them together for a 360 view from the top.

After coming down off the Eiffel tower we hit up a local restaurant (which sucked by the way, here?s a hint food in downtown Paris sucks go to the outskirts) for lunch. After that we walked around town for a bit and then decided to get some sleep. I really wanted to go out and hit the clubs and local bar scene but Amanda didn?t want to go out and I just didn?t feel like going out by myself so eh oh well. I?m flying out of Paris in August and I will be staying another three days there so I?ll go out then.

Alright that?s all I have for now. I?ll write about Saturday and about the flight down to Marseille on Sunday, later.

eiffel tower

From sea level to the top of the Eiffel Tower