The Many Personalities of La Tour Eiffel

We spent a leisurely Saturday morning lounging around reading and eating the pastries Michelle had gone down to the patisserie to get (if only they delivered!). I could get used to this!


Michelle checked the weather and found out that it was supposed to be the nicest day of the next 5, but as Marc was getting ready to head out to a photo expo he was in a quandry as to what to wear because it was raining, and as he settled on wearing a hoodie it began to pour so he added another jacket. Formidable!


Michelle, the kids and I took our own sweet time getting ready and eventually left the apartment around 2:45pm, and the rain was gone.


We walked over to a nearby street to visit the patisserie that's open on Saturdays (the closest one to the apartment isn't) to get some lunch.

Oh my, it was a festival of delights, so much to choose from.

We all ended up getting a pizza sort of thing that was bread with lardon (a bacon-type meat) and cheese on it. Oh la la.


I took so many pictures while standing there waiting for our orders to heat up that I would have been happy to consider this our outing for the day, yet we'd just begun!


We ate while we walked to catch the bus to take us to Trocadero (which is a big gathering area of museums and performers on the opposite side of the Eiffel Tower). We didn't go there the last time I was here, so I'd never been on that side. It was full of gorgeous views (of course) and a cool place to go.


The weather kept changing so the sky went from gray to blue with fluffy white clouds, to only blue and so on. I loved them all!


We made our way over to the Chaillot Museum but stopped to watch some street performers. They seemed to be amusing themselves more than the crowd, but every now and then would do a really cool move or trick. (Watching SYTYCD has definitely increased my appreciation for break dancing.)


We eventually made our way into the museum where we stood in line for tickets for an inexplicably long time, which was particularly torturous for me because there was a young Asian woman behind me talking to her friend and she had the worse breath ever! I totally had to switch over to mouth-breathing mode, but even then felt violated by her. I don't think it had anything to do with what she'd eaten for lunch, I think that was just her smell. Good grief!


The Eiffel Tower seemed to follow us around the museum. It was so funny to look out each window and still be able to see it. The last time we saw it Lucas said, "How did that get there?!"

This is one of the views I loved from the museum window.

The exhibit we went to see was full of old, old facades from churches. I have no idea how they were able to excavate, move and display these pieces, but they did. It took every ounce of self-control I had not to touch them as I passed by. They were just screaming to be touched. I'm happy to report that my self-control was enough to get me through, but I would have liked the exhibit more if I'd been able to feel that rough stone. Aargh!

I call this one "Jet Lag".

I developed my first blister of the trip in this museum, woohoo, but had blister bandages (I'm no rookie) in my bag and was able to remedy the situation immediately. I'm finding feet are a major liability in Paris. They hurt and get tired far sooner than the rest of me does, even though I bought cushiony inserts for them! (Photo by Michelle)


There was another exhibit going on in conjunction with the architecture exhibit and had this wall of quotes about what people love about Paris. Michelle translated them for Max and I, and we were all quite taken with it. I love the idea of listing everything I love about place I'm visiting, the place I live, and so on.

Another cloudy view of The Eiffel Tower.

Ah but wait, we exited the museum to find blue skies and white clouds!


Every step along the path down from the museum brought a different and beautiful view!

A little bit closer now.

By the time we made it down the hill to the Carousel (Eva's incentive for behaving through the exhibit) the clouds were gone and the sky was pure blue.


After Eva (and Max's) carousel ride we bought some cotton candy and churros. Eva's head was eclipsed by the size of the cotton candy!


These churros were very good, but nothing like the ones they sell at Costco!


We took the bus back to the apartment, which is enjoyable because we can see where we're going (as opposed to the metro), but holy cow, I can't imagine being a bus driver (or any kind of driver) in Paris! Watch out!

The final shot before going in for the day!

**Which Eiffel Tower shot do you like best?
Have you been to any of these places?
Thoughts??**

Comment Window Tidbit: I've never been quite so grateful for a day of rest!