Day 4 – Paris
Here’s the deal, not all travel is as smooth sailing as you would like it to be. Rail strikes are a common occurrence in many parts of Europe, but especially in Paris. About 3 days before our trip, we received an email telling us that our train, the only train between London and Paris, had been cancelled due to a rail strike. The options provided for us were to receive a refund, or change the day of our train. Luckily, the day after the day we had initially planned was available. We made the switch, and were given standby tickets for the train that day.The folks at EuroStar had no idea what they were doing. Three different employee’s told us three different things to do in order to make it on that train. Eventually, we got to the train and got it all sorted out. We got to sit on these lovely seats called fold down seats. They are about as comfortable as they look.
After a few minutes of getting people sorted out, the train host came by and let us know about some normal seats that we were able to sit in. Although they weren’t by each other, it was a nice upgrade from the fold down seats.
A few hours later, we were in Paris, France. First things first, we jumped on another train to get into the city center. And wouldn’t you know it, on that very first train, there were pickpockets waiting for easy prey. Well, carrying luggage is a clear sign that you are a tourist, even though each of us only had a single carry on bag. So, they targeted us. Luckily, we were all well prepared for this possibility and had our important items secured. Four or five guys surrounded my dad on the train and one tried to reach into his pocket, thinking we were lame like some tourists. Well, he let them know quite quickly that he knew their game, and they backed off. So, just a helpful reminder to anybody traveling in Europe, keep your valuables hidden at all times.
Ok, enough with the boring stuff…
Considering that our first day was supposed to be day 2 in Paris, we had already booked our Eiffel Tower lift tickets far in advance, so we hit the ground running and made the Eiffel Tower our first stop. On my first trip to Paris, we didn’t know that lift tickets to the Eiffel Tower were difficult to get. If you don’t book online in advance, you will have to wait in line for over an hour, usually a few hours, just to get your ticket. Then you will have to head over to the actual line for the lift, where you will wait another 20-30 minutes.
An alternative to the lift is the stairs. There are a lot of them, but it is actually a lot of fun to walk up them instead of using the lift. The price of the ticket is the same, but there is generally no line for the stairs. You can buy your ticket and start your journey up the stairs in under 15 minutes on a normal day. To be honest, I actually prefer the stairs now that I have done both. The stairs are awesome because they offer great views going up, and allow you to stop along the way and take it all in. But, there are a lot of stairs, so if you’re not down for that, make sure to get tickets ahead of time.
After a great evening on the Eiffel Tower, we decided to find some fabulous crepes. Now, we couldn’t get just any crepes, so we sought out a restaurant with excellent reviews. We decided to try out some Crepes Suzette. Needless to say, they were amazing.
