Erki & Katrina hitch-hiking Europe: Tour Eiffel

Salut l'amie :)

It was a hot Thursday morning in Paris when we got up early to climb to the top of Eiffel tower. After taking couple of metro trains from port d'Orleans to Bir-Hakeim (closest station to the tower) we arrived to see not too long of a line waiting at the stair access ticket booth. It took us just about half an hour to get our tickets and to start heading up the tower. Compared to what you would have to wait to get up using elevators, it's not that long.

There were a lot of steps to be climbed, but to be honest, it wasn't as tiring as you would expect. It didn't take us very long to get through the 695 steps to arrive at the second level. From there, the decision was to head straight to the elevator for third and last level. Lines to the elevators hadn't grown too long yet, so it took only perhaps 10 minutes to access them. Once in the top, an breathtaking view opened up before our eyes, as we looked over the grand city of Paris. Visibility was good up to the Montmarte hill. Hoping some of our friends and family from back home can see us, we decided to give them a wave.

Having enjoyed that amazing view from the top level for a while we headed back to second level, to enjoy the view with some more details. Some say, that the view from second level is much more enjoyable, but would say that they both have their good sides to them.

Walk down from the stairs actually felt to be longer than going up, maybe the adrenalin of getting up the tower makes walking up seem much easier. As we got back to the ground, we could see that the fountains next to the tower had been turned on, and as sun was getting pretty high in the sky by then, siting next to the pools and fountains seemed like a really good idea. Katrina filled her plan from Tuesday and even tested out the water, by jumping into the pools. Water wasn't that warm, but swimming next to the Eiffel tower is enjoyable even with cold water =)

Having stayed by the pools for a while, sun started to wear down on us. So we decided to head back to Evertons place to get some rest and work on the blog. Got some great pictures and videos to show you from the trip to this magnificent tower.

In the evening Everton took us out for a walk across Paris. Being already in awe from earlier visit, we headed back to the Eiffel tower, in order to take a look at this big structure at night from close by. In the beginning of every hour the tower will be filled by flashing lights, so we stayed until midnight and weren't disappointed, as it turned into a giant disco ball with small lights flashing off it. After enjoying this one of a kind view, we started to head back home, which was about 6km away. It was a bit tiring, but still enjoyable.

Note of the day: If you want to avoid the very very long ques to get up to Eiffel tower, get there early or buy a ticket online!