Eiffel Tower Overload!

On our first full day in Paris I couldn't wait to go see the Eiffel Tower up close and personal!  On our walk over we stopped in a little patisserie for breakfast.  Since neither one of us speak French there was a lot of pointing and hand gestures...we managed to order a pain au chocolate (chocolate croissant) , beignet and 2 coffees.  Some version of this became our daily breakfast.  I don't know how the French stay so skinny because if I lived in this town I would weight 400lbs!!  They sure know how to do pastry, breads, desserts and just about anything high in calories and butter!! 

This little guy was sitting outside the bakery waiting for his owner.  Oh how it made me miss my Lola Belle!! I just wanted to squeeze his little smushed face...I didn't but I thought about it!

After breakfast we walked to the Eiffel Tower.  For me this was what Paris was all about.  I had to see the iconic monument to feel like I was really, truly in Paris.  The tower was built in 1889 as the entrance arch to the World's Fair and has become the identifying symbol of Paris.  The "iron lady" didn't disappoint and she was just as amazing in person as I imagined.

 On one side of the tower are the Gardens of the Trocadero with the Warsaw Fountain.  We walked up just as the fountains started! I didn't get a picture of it but the water and bright sunny day made a perfect little rainbow that stretched across the long pool.

 We also happened to walk up on a couple having wedding photos done!  How romantic to be married in the city of love and have pictures in front of the Eiffel Tower!  That being said I really wanted to tell all of those people to move out of the background of their pictures....I guess that's what you get at a huge tourist attraction.  Maybe the photographer can photo shop them out.

 From the garden and fountain you walk down and across the Seine River to the tower itself.  

Chad looking up at the 81 story tower!

On the other side of the tower is a tree lined stretch of lawn.  There were tons of people with picnic baskets and blankets sitting on the lawn enjoying the view. 

After I had taken about a million pictures from every possible angle we continued our walk around the city.  We walked along the Seine River heading for Notre Dame Cathedral. 

Statue of Thomas Jefferson along the Seine River

Another view of the Eiffel Tower...I just couldn't get enough!

 As we walked, we stumbled across the Pont de l'Archevêché bridge.  I had heard about this bridge and that it was tradition for couples to attach a padlock with their names to the bridge a sign of their everlasting love.  As part of the tradition you either throw the keys into the Seine River or keep them as a keep sake.  We couldn't pass this by without leaving our mark, so we bought a lock from one of the street vendors and added it the bridge.

Makes you wonder where all these lovers are today!

View of the river from the bridge

By the time we made it to Notre Dame the clouds had turned grey and it started to rain.  Luckily there wasn't a long line to get in and out of the weather.  Now honestly, as walked up all I could think about was the Disney movie....you know The Hunchback of Notre Dame.  I was fully expecting gargoyles and creepiness.  Well, in reality there is no hunchback or abundance of gargoyles adorning the building.  It was however a beautiful Gothic cathedral with gorgeous stained glass. 

After Notre Dame we hopped on the metro and headed back to the hotel for a quick nap in the hopes that the rain would stop before dinner. Well, the rain persisted but we strolled down the Champs Elysees and found a restaurant for dinner. I wish I had taken a picture of the dessert we had as it was quite possibly one of the best things I have ever eaten!  It was pan perdu (brioche French toast) topped with vanilla bean ice cream and homemade caramel sauce...are you drooling yet? It was such a simple idea and I could probably recreate it at home but it was SOOOO good!

Tomorrow, the Palace of Versailles!