Cold, Wet, and Romantic

Today, we awoke to overcast skies and hoped that it would clear up before we went to the top of the Eiffel Tower in the evening.  Unfortunately, the weather got worse; however, we were still able to go do everything we had planned.

We began the day at the Marmottan Museum, which features Impressionist paintings.  The museum has one of the largest collections of Monet paintings anywhere in the world.  It also features artwork by Renoit, Van Dyck, and Rubens.  We are both big fans of Monet and felt it was incredible to get to see so many at one time!

The next stop of the day was the Montmartre district of Paris, known for its Bohemian culture and, of course, The Moulin Rouge.  This district features the tallest natural point in Paris, and because of this, it provides expansive views of the city.  We started out at the Sacre Coeur, which is a church built at the top of  the hill overlooking Paris.  It was built by Catholics after the Revolution in the 1800s.  They worried about Paris becoming too liberal and built the church to signify their faith.  We attempted a walking tour from our guidebook, but missed a few turns.  Instead, we just wandered the quaint streets, admired the artwork in the shops, and eventually ended up back at the metro station.  We decided that we would go back to search for the Moulin Rouge and some art to bring home.

During our walk, it turned from overcast to downpour.  We bought an umbrella and made our way to the Eiffel Tower.  We showed up about 45 minutes before our reservation, so we took a few pictures and tried to stay dry.  When it was our turn, we headed all the way to the top.  There are three viewing levels, the highest one being 900 feet above ground.  At 1063 feet, The Eiffel Tower was the tallest man-made structure on the planet when it was built for the 1889 World's Fair.  On a clear, you can see forty miles!!  We were amazed at the views on our cloudy day, so I can't imagine what it's like on a clear day.  We walked around the third platform, then took the elevator down to the second platform.  The second platform was the most impressive to us because you were high enough to see all ends of the city, but low enough to make out the different structures.  I didn't know that there was a miniature Statue of Liberty in Paris looking West toward the full-sized statue in  New York, but we could see it situated on an island in the Seine River from the second platform.  We passed by the restaurant on the Eiffel Tower (which costs about 200 euro per person) and headed back down to the ground.  Even with the terrible weather, the Eiffel Tower was more amazing than either of us had imagined.

We walked back toward the metro station and the lights of the Eiffel Tower turned on.  It seemed to get more magical as dusk turned to darkness, but the rain came harder and harder, so we decided to skip eating out.  Instead, we stopped at the bakery and grocery store near our apartment and headed back to dry clothes and made a frozen pasta dish in our oven followed by delicious chocolate eclairs and French wine.  Tomorrow's highlight is the Louvre, so it's off to bed for some much needed sleep!