Rendez-vous in Paris, Part 2

Day 3

My third day in Paris started with a trek to the Eiffel Tower. It's huge in real life and doesn't hold a candle to the mock version at King's Dominion in Virginia! We climbed up 668 stairs to the second level of the tower and then took an elevator to the very top (they make you take an elevator, otherwise we would have continued the journey by foot since we're troopers!). The views of Paris were breathtaking and only got better as we got further up!

One of the legs on the Eiffel Tower Views from the top If you look closely, you can see the Arc de Triomphe Me and Zack at the top

Posing in front of the Eiffel Tower with Zack and Josh. On the way up to the top, there are little plaques displaying random information about the tower such as in the 1980s, there was a dirt bike race up the stairs of the tower and Gustav Eiffel used to live in an apartment at the very top!

After the Eiffel Tower, we had lunch and went to the Galeries Lafayette to do some shopping. Although we didn't buy anything, it was fascinating to walk around inside of the shopping center. It's very fancy and upscale - and we even visited the champagne and wine bars inside the department store.

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Day 4

Our fourth day in Paris came too soon. Since we different destinations, my Parisian traveling buddies and I parted ways early in the afternoon. Then, I headed to Montmartre and to the Sacré Coeur.
Montmartre
The Sacré Coeur
After the Sacré Coeur, I took the metro back to the Place de la Concorde and the Jardin des Tuileries to sit at an outdoor café and soak up the end of my time in Paris!

To sum up my trip to Paris, I've borrowed from the cheesy Mastercard commercial.

Days in Paris: 4

Hotel room number: 603

Stairs climbed up and down the Eiffel Tower: 1336

My first trip to Paris, reuniting with an old friend and making a new one: Priceless