Day 18: Paris

On Day 18, we woke up and made a bee line for the Eiffel Tower opening at 9:30 am. Evening getting there early, it was 45 minutes to buy tickets and then probably another hour of lines to get to the top. Midway up the Eiffel Tower, it started to rain. Level 2, where you catch a separate elevator to the summit, is not well covered, so we got wet. Big raindrops.
View from Level 2 of the Eiffel Tower

Once we were to the top, it was beautiful. The rain had stopped. While overcast, the views of Paris were terrific.
The same photo I took at age 15 in Paris with French class.
At the top of the Eiffel tower.

After the Eiffel Tower, we got some lunch. Prices are very expensive in the city, so we bought some simple baguettes with ham from a takeaway shop and some fruit from a stand. Good lunch.

We found the nearest Metro line near the Paris military college and went to the suburbs for the guided tour we had reserved at Roland Garros, the site of the French Open.
To Roland Garros.

Unfortunately, the rain flooded the facility and all tours were cancelled. It was a long train trip and we would have appreciated them sending us an email telling us not to come. Oh well. We found a place for coffee in the area and planned the next part of our day.
In the Roland Garros gift shop.

A security guard was nice enough to let us pose in front of a tennis court, even though the facilities were closed. It was surprising how small the facility was, particularly compared to Wimbeldon -- which is enormous.

Court #2 at Roland Garros.

We saw a poster on a light pole with directions to an English language bookstore, so we decided to try to find it. It was near the Latin Quarter, location of the Pantheon and the Sorbonne. We found the bookstore but, because it was Bastille Day, July 14, it was closed. A day of bad luck.

So, we thought we'd tour the area to see the Sorbonne and inspire the kids. The Sorbonne is not like a normal university. Instead of picturesque quads with lots of shade trees, it is a giant granite structure with no public access. We walked around the entire fortress and eventually settled for a picture of the outside. The kids were not impressed.

The Sorbonne.

At this point, visiting the Pantheon was out of the question. So, after grabbing some dinner, we decided to go back for more Berthillon ice cream at Ile St. Louis...

Berthillon...

We then tried to find a good location to watch the July 14 fireworks over the Eiffel Tower. We wanted to avoid the throngs near the tower, so we walked up the Seine until we found a bridge with a view of the tower. We found a nice cove on Pont Neuf with a view of the Eiffel Tower and waited for the show. And waited. The fireworks didn't start until 10:45 pm, which is when it was finally dark.

Pont Neuf, looking towards Eiffel Tower.

Waiting for the fireworks.

A shaky-handed view of the fireworks.

It was a long day, with a few disappointments, but it ended in a pretty special fashion, watching fireworks over the Eiffel Tower from the oldest bridge in Paris with your family.