Just to get things straight -- NO, this is not about what you might be thinking!
Monday was my last day in the hotel and hadn't done anything "touristy" yet so decided to go to the Eiffel Tower which was only a fifteen to twenty minute walk away along the Seine River. First of all, yes, the Eiffel Tower is "touristy" -- unbelievable number of vendors selling plastic miniature versions of the ET -- they actually have developed a large metal ring they use to carry them around on when they're not displayed on a blanket on the sidewalk. Then you have a dozen or so scammers offering the old ball under the cup "game" -- can't believe anyone still goes for that come-on! Plus a scad of other "you can't pass up" deals.
Anyway, the ET itself is very impressive -- the legs of the base occupy a space about half the size of a football field and the tower itself is over three football fields high -- and extremely ornate -- it was built in 1889 during the Art Nouveau period for the Paris World Exposition and intended to be a temporary structure. Despite demands for it to be dissembled in the 1910's, it was preserved and somehow made it through both WWI and WWII -- I find it interesting that no one really talks about how. The Tower is an engineering masterpiece -- as delicate looking as it is and given how complex it must have been to design and assemble -- it's just mind-blowing! There are two ways to go up the ET -- you can walk up a third of the way to the "second floor" -- only 720 steps and then ride an elevator to the top (another two football fields) or you can pay extra and ride the whole way -- take a guess which way I went!
To reach the second story, you ride in an elevator that goes up at about a 20-30 degrees angle following contour of the south leg of the Tower. The second story is actually comprised of two viewing decks, the lower one enclosed and the upper one open to the breezes. The views, after you fight your way thru the crowd to the railing, are nice -- pretty much what you'd expect from being in a "high" place -- but they give you a sense of proportion as to how large the City of Paris actually is -- it's big -- and how much of it is really old architecture. To reach the top of the ET, you que up in long meandering line for the chance to ride in a rather small 8-10 person glass walled elevator that goes straight up to a small viewing platform at the top -- if you have a fear of heights, forget it -- with just a piece of glass between you and a thousand feet down, it's a bit freaky -- and of course everyone looks down and watches the world move away from under their feet -- naturally the elevator also has that quaint bouncing and bumping feature built into the ride and gives credence to the possibility that the cable may snap and it could get launched into the blue with you in it -- for some reason, descending isn't nearly as bad. The views from the top are impressive but again, pretty much what you'd expect from being in a high place. Definitely an "A" ticket experience!
Then it was back to the hotel to pack up, grab a taxi and head over to the "apartment", my home for the next thirty days. The plan was for the owner's "nephew" to meet me there and turn over the keys -- I arrived early and as fate wouild have it, there was a bistro right next door to the apartment where I coiuld wait for the "nephew" while having lunch and a beer. Beautiful warm, sunny day with temperatures in the high 60's - low 70's -- ah, to be in Paris!! Eventually the "nephew" who turned out to be a property manager and not a "nephew" arrived and got me into the apartment.
Lovely place -- on the fifth floor of a six story building with three sets of large floor to ceiling French doors facing the street -- total of six rooms -- living room, bedroom, sitting room, bathroom, toilet and kitchen decorated in an eclectic mix of modern and antique furniture -- I'm happy! Built like a fortress -- have to go through three locked doors to get to the apartment and the exterior door is 1" thick decorative grating -- guess they took the violence of the French Revolution seriously here! Unlike many of the older apartment building in Paris, this one actually has an elevator - or what passes as one -- feels more like an extended dumbwaiter -- measures three feet wide by eighteen inches deep but has a full length mirror so "feels" larger -- oh, yeah, that really makes a big difference! Metal iron gate closes in front of you, you push a button and hope the thing works! I'm sure smaller people would call it charming because they would fit!
After settling in a bit, went out exploring -- a huge reason as to why I decided to stay in four different locations in Paris is so that I could experience the differences between the neighborhoods -- and this neighborhood is diferent. The hotel neighborhood was very quaint, very clean, very well policed -- the apartment neighborhood is more working class -- while many of the buildings are older, most of the stores have modern fronts and boast of electronics, coin dealers, travel agencies, hairdressers, furniture stores, mini-marts -- you have to get off of the main streets to even come close to the quaint small businesses so common near the hotel. Here there seem to be very few tourists and the hustle bustle is more of people hurrying to go off to work or walking their dog or doing some light grocery shopping which, so far, I'm enjoying but in a different way.
That doesn't mean there aren't surprises to be found here. Went out and picked-up some groceries -- found a boulangerie and a boucherie a few blocks away and a slug of mini-marts where I gave up and finished my shopping -- no formageries or chocolatiers so far. Then, as it was about 9:30pm, decided I was too tired to cook dinner that evening so decided to keep walking and find a place to eat. Passed-up a nunber of places for a mix of reasons, and, getting desperate for food, headed down a residential street where I could see a sign for a pizza place a block away. The houses here all run together and give the appearane on each block being one big, long house or apartment block. Just before reaching the pizza place, I came upon this tiny little "hole-in-the-wall" restaurant set back a little from the street -- a Nepalese restaurant run by an older couple from Nepal, decorated in Buddist tapastries, photos, framed prints -- four small tables was it. Unbelievable, never in my wildest dreams could I have imagined walking up that morning and saying "I'm going to have dinner in an authentic Nepalese restaurant in Paris" this evening. Between the atmosphere and the food, it was an amazing experience!
