Climb The Eiffel Tower At Night

The day I went up the Eiffel Tower was the same day I fell out of a bus, sprained my ankle, and then fainted in front of a group of strangers.  Tragically embarrassing right?  The medically sane thing to do would be to stay in the hotel room to rest my poor foot, but when would I ever have the opportunity to go up the Eiffel Tower again?  Possibly never?!  I popped a few Tylenol's into my system (since I experience adverse reactions with Motrin), had my best friend freshly ace-wrap my ankle, and got a new bag of ice to help decrease the swelling. 



As we approached the Eiffel Tower I could see its little lights flickering in the distance.  The lights were one of the primary reasons I wanted to go up at night! I love Christmas Trees, and to me, the Eiffel Tower at night resembled one giant Christmas Tree.  As I walked limped towards the tower, I was immediately bombarded by men selling little replica Eiffel Tower souvenirs.  As slick as a one armed/one legged ninja I maneuvered myself away from them and into a lengthy line to get up to the top. 

It took a few lifts to finally make it to the third platform, and as soon as I stepped onto the observation deck I was overwhelmed by what I saw.  The lights, the Parisian architecture, and the feeling of being on the top of the world took over me.  For a few minutes I imagined myself quitting my job, packing up my bags and moving to Paris. 

A Crippled CeCe at the top of the Eiffel Tower

Somehow on the way down I got separated from my friend, and the once peaceful moment I experienced at the top was tainted by a feeling of panic.  After nearly 20 minutes of feeling abandoned (mind you this was during my pre-solo trip days), I finally found my friend who was contemplating on leaving thinking I had left and taken the metro or taxi back to the hotel. 


I loved the Eiffel Tower so much that the following morning I got onto the metro and back to the Eiffel Tower.  Note:  The Eiffel Tower metro stop is still quite a walk away, or maybe it was just more noticeable for me since  every step was a struggle? Champ de Mars (the green space in front of the Eiffel Tower) is also a fabulous place to just hang out, have a picnic, or just merely a place to enjoy the beauty that surrounds you. 


Paris, one of these days, I will be back!

Date Accomplished:  September 18th, 2007

Travel With A Traveling Gnome

When gearing for my first international trip I got obsessed with the idea of traveling with a traveling gnome like in the movie Amelie.  It was like a right of passage, an initiation to travel if you will, or maybe I just wanted an excuse to buy a gnome. 

I named him Herman, a traveling Gnome I bought on Amazon, complete with his own passport.  I bought two more gnomes that I creatively named for my besties.  I'm the only one that ended up using the gnome as a traveling gnome.  I'd like to believe he was the secret to my travel success.

Herman easily fit in my purse, and traveled from London to Greece with me.  He was there when I stumbled out of a bus and sprained my ankle in Paris, he held my hair back when I was puking in the toilet after having too much vino in Venice, he was our bodyguard when we were chased through Switzerland by a public masturbator, and he drank it up with us during Oktoberfest in Germany.

Date Accomplished:   October 2nd, 2007