Day Four - Eiffel Tower and a real French dinner

The Eiffel Tower from across the street.
Up close. This thing is huge!
The Arc d'Triomphe
A complete view of the Louvre ...

We woke up late, and decided to drive, once again, into the city. Getting stuck at the airport was not a good experience. But my advice would be to stay in Paris, not by the airport. So we checked out of the hotel and tried to go to the Musee d’Orsay, but it was closed on Monday. Many things are closed on Monday, so be careful. Instead we went to the Eiffel tower. First we went to the building across from it and got a good view. It is really neat and beautiful. We also got some crepes. They were warm and it felt good since it was still raining. From there we debated, but ultimately decided to go up to the top. Sort of a once in a lifetime thing. So we got tickets, waited in the cold rain and wind, and went to the top. It was fun, but very cold. I recommend going to Paris when it is just a little bit warmer – maybe May or June.

We left Paris exhausted (I slept the entire way to northern France), but happy. I love Paris. I really do. Not just because it says it on some t-shirt. It is truly amazing. It is so beautiful and it just keeps going and going and going. No big box stores (although we did see and IKEA), just little shops owned by real people. People walking and enjoying life.

We checked into our next hotel in Gournay en Bray. The room is small, but nice, updated and quiet. For dinner we went to a co-worker of tyler’s who lives in a 200-year-old house. I don’t think American houses last that long. He showed us the cellar – where he keeps all his wine and the wine of some friends. It is so quaint and has a cement, rock, and wood exterior. You can’t see the house from the one-lane road very much, but it is really nice. They have two boys who were also perfect hosts. One didn’t really speak any English, but the younger boy was really interested and tried very hard to speak a few words.

We ate shredded carrot, cumber and tomato salad with home made vinegar dressing, pork with honey glaze and sauce, cheese (even some black cheese), mousse and cake.

We left early when the liquor came out. Tyler had a big presentation the next day.