One Day in Paris, France to See the Eiffel Tower Before the Tour of France Begins

---

Since I would have a few days in Paris after the tour of France; since most of the tour providers do not identify which hotel will be used for the pre-tour and post-tour accommodation; and since the tour-contracted hotels generally are removed from city center and less costly, I selected a pricy hotel close to the Eiffel Tower for my short two-night pre-tour stay so I could visit that and other nearby attractions before the tour and saved the other attractions for my post-tour stay.

THU, 23 JUN 2022 found me catching a taxi to the Barcelona-Sants train station for my 6-hour, 48-minute high-speed ride to Paris, France and the Paris Gare De Lyon train station. This train is a double-decker, but I chose the lower deck when I booked so I wouldn’t have to drag my luggage up the stairs. Apparently, some of the people seated on the upper deck didn’t “drag their luggage up the stairs” either because the luggage racks on the lower level were teeming. I toted mine up the stairs, (one piece at a time much to the chagrin of some of the other passengers), and found ample room on the upper-level luggage racks. My previous experiences were on single level coaches where the stairs were not an issue. Lesson learned! The trip was uneventful, and I managed to wallow my way through the station in Paris with my end goal being a taxi stand. Mission accomplished, and we’re off to the hotel. After some stew at a nearby eatery, it was beddy-bye for Uncle Larry.

FRI, 24 JUN 2022 was set aside to visit the Eiffel Tower. I got a fashionably late start under blue skies that would later turn threatening. My first glimpse of “her majesty” was sorta ho-hum, but I was totally taken aback when I was standing beneath this awesome monument! No picture can do justice to the sheer magnitude of this edifice. Once in line for my appointed 1200 hours admission, I learned that some technical issues had closed the top of the tower but that a credit would be applied to the credit card on file without any action necessary on my part. Isn’t technology wonderful? I was amazed with the elevators, the views and the surrounding statues, fountain and park.



SAT, 25 JUN 2022 was the first day of the 16-day La France tour of, yup, France. There was no scheduled activity until a, “Welcome to Paris” event at 1700 hours where I would meet the Tour Director and my traveling companions for a “welcome drink,” so I had virtually the entire day to play tourist in Paris. It was threatening rain all morning, so I made an early arrival at the tour-contracted hotel and, surprise, surprise, my room was ready. That gave me a little time to get caught up on my blogging. France, grab your ass – Uncle Larry is on his way!

---

Photos

The Eiffel Tower and Its Neighborhood
But, Frank, It's Only a Quarter of an Inch Short

The Eiffel Tower and Its Neighborhood
Yup, Still a Sucker for Carousels

The Eiffel Tower and Its Neighborhood
Young Couples Locked Together Forever in Love

Comments

[Joe Cascio]

Love it!
Great bio Larry and pictures to boot!