Impressionable Impressionists

Day 8 was a fairly early start for us because we were determined to see all of France...from the top of the Eiffel Tower. Rick Steves advised us to arrive about 15 minutes before opening, get in the right line and go straight to the top. All sound advice and so off we were.

I might interject here that I am fascinated by just how LATE it gets light in Paris this time of year. I am not talking 7 or 7:30 am; it is far closer to 8:45 or 9:00. This naturally did not help my cause when I attempted to roust the team early to get moving. As usual, I digress...

We arrived at the Eiffel Tower at 8:45, perfect for the 9:00 am open time. As the clock ticked well past 9, I consulted the book again and realized that I had been viewing the summer hours. The winter hours show the Tower opening at 9:30. Oops. I rationalized the mistake by pointing out that we were pretty far back in the line and arriving 1/2 hour later would have only made it worse. 9:30 cam and went. 10:00 hit and still there was no action in the queues. The crowd grew restless, people started forming fake lines in front of the legitimate ones and things were getting unruly.

It turns out that there was frost on the upper two levels of the Tower, so it could not be opened. At about 10:15 it looked like the booths were going to open. The crowd surged forward. It started to rain. It started to hail. People were yelling and crossing the lines. It was messy, but we wanted to go to the top, darn it! I am to this minute not entirely clear on how this happened, but we ended up in a pile of people that were forced/shoved/pushed/nearly trampled through the barricades to line up. I am not certain that this was the way that we were supposed to go, but can't deny my relief to get under the cover of the Tower entry to get out of the rain. I think (actually, I know) that we were unwitting line cutters. Sorry about that.

The stress of the crowd behind us, we went up to level 2 on the sideways elevator - it was kind of a weird experience and made me rethink going all the way to the top if that was how it was set up. Fortunately, the ascension was both quick and straight, kind of like going up through a tube that you can see through. We took some cool pictures of the ride as well as the city, which you are welcomed to view as Paris - Day 8.

The top platform was stunning. It was fully enclosed (I was pretty relieved by that) and had lots of signage to help identify the different sights and landmarks. It is a cool thing to travel all that way and take in such an impressive monument; we all agreed that we would have regretted it had we not ventured all the way to the top.

As we said goodbye to our beloved Tower for the last time on this trip, we chanced upon a brasserie called Castel for lunch. We beat the crowds, all of whom attempted to squeeze in after we were seated. Sticking with my new favorite of salad and goat cheese toast, my lunch did not disappoint. Holly and David were equally pleased with their french onion soup and spaghetti bolognese, respectively. It was nice to sit all warm and toasty as we watched the rain and sleet alternately come down on the many tourists walking by outside.

Our afternoon plans took us to a lesser-known Monet museum called Musée Marmottan Monet. This was an awesome find! My only regret on the whole experience was the fact that they took away our cameras! We had to check our cameras when we entered the museum; photos are strictly prohibited here. This is one of the few points of the trip that is not well-documented in photos, but of course we have our memories!

This museum boasts the largest Monet collection in the world, with many of the canvas contributions coming from Monet's youngest son Michel. I am personally a HUGE fan of Monet, so having the opportunity to really examine his work and see the evolution of the art and style throughout his life (and ongoing battle with blindness due to cataracts) was fantastic. We made the obligatory round through the gift shop and noticed that it was snowing, and it was snowing hard enough, with big enough flakes that it was sticking to the ground.

Our walk back to the Metro was especially fun as we tramped through the snow. Our day had been a good and fulfilling one indeed.