La Tour Eiffel

I was spoiled (spoiled!) to see the Eiffel Tower with a tour booked through Visites-Spectacles, a company that just recently started giving tours in English.  (thanks Mary Kay!)

Gilles, an actor and our tour guide, made learning the history of the famous landmark exciting and interesting.  Between learning the mechanics of the famous 45º elevators (pneumatic pumps!), that the tower was once red, and the location of the former bunker of Radio France - well, the view speaks for itself.  If you'd like to read more about the tour, check here.  It was definitely the best way to see the Eiffel Tower (bonus!  you don't have to wait in any lines!)

Elevator equipment

The yellow tank is raised as a pneumatic counterweight to the elevators.

The yellow tank is now all the way down. 

The view through the elevator's ceiling.

See this mass of people?  This is a line.  Because of the tour, we bypassed this line all together. 

Champ de Mars (where we celebrated Bastille Day Fireworks)

 We took elevators up but the stairs down.  44 flights.  Yowzers.

La Tour Eiffel from Afar

Our last stop of the day was a pop-up bar called The 180 Restaurant and Bar in the Pullman Hotel---the main draw, of course, being the incredible view of the Eiffel Tower.  (photos of the restaurant during the day here).

It was so lovely to sit on the balcony, drink wine, take pictures, enjoy the evening air, just wishing for the night to never end.

Sacré-Cœur

Sacré-Cœur (Sacred Heart) Basilica is at the very top of la butte Montmartre, the highest point in the city.  As such, it's a landmark you can see from vantage points all over Paris.  Named after the sacred heart of Jesus, it speaks to the increasingly popular image of Jesus as a sympathetic and caring figure during the construction in the 1870s.  It has also been made a symbol for every side of seemingly most conflicts that have occurred in Paris since it was built.  French history is nothing if not complicated.

Photos aren't allowed inside the basilica, sadly.

The view from the steps - a bit blurry, but I adore the graffiti rainbow and how it matches with the colors of the Pompidou in the distance.

Gulp.  People and tourists and buskers, so many of them.  Much to my peace and quiet-loving self, most places in Paris are mobbed with people.  Be warned.

Montmartre

Sara and I started in the lower sections of Montmartre, and our calves felt the walk up the hill (butte). 

The square is just as full of artists and subjects as it was years ago.

We were both so jealous of the couple on the fifth story of this apartment building - the entire view of Paris was theirs.

Next stop - Le Vrai Paris for something to eat.

I had a strawberry mojito and a tomato tartin, Sara had a caipirinha and some bread and foie gras.  It was good.  Not mind-blowing, though, especially given the price.  The funny thing about wandering around Paris was the realization that French food, even just in a cafe, is really, really expensive.

And sure enough, I thought back to previous meals, and we had eaten falafel, gelato, bread, cheese, pizza, citron pressés, but no real French meal out to eat.  I'll take the baguette, cheese, and more desserts than I can handle over real food any day.

Walk through Montmartre

A.  Abbesses Metro Stop
B.  Relais de la Butte
C.  Consulat Restaurant
D.  Sacre Coeur
E.  Brasserie au Soleil de la Butte
F.  Halle Saint-Pierre
G.  La Vrai Paris

Castel Béranger

Our late night arrival to Paris meant a leisurely morning, strolling through the 16th and getting some errands done.  I was left to enjoy the architecture of Castel Béranger while Mary Kay worked through a particularly onerous set of forms at the post office.

Considered the founder of Art Noveau, architect Hector Guimard built Castel Béranger in the 1890s.  

Hidden behind trees and next to a Vélib rack, you wouldn't notice how special the building was until you walked a bit closer and noticed the detailed curves and colors.

But anyone with a subsection in their wikipedia article called "A Flashing Glory" --- well, they've got to be fascinating.  There isn't any way around it.