Paris DLP
Today we were up relatively early as our tour of the Eiffel Tower was due to leave at 10am, and after that we were off to DLP! We got ready, packed the last of our things, had breakfast and checked out (but left the luggage at the hotel), and walked outside to see SNOW EVERYWHERE! Walking across the bridge to the Gare dAusterlitz station, we took about twice as long as usual, trying not to slip on the ice lol! When we got off at Champs de Mars/Tour Eiffel, we were greeted by a completely white path, covered in mainly virgin snow!
We had great fun on our walk to the Eiffel Tower! This snow was easy to walk on since it hadnt been compacted yet. We arrived at the tower to see snow still sticking to parts of the structure.
Walking up to our meeting place, I saw signs saying that opening had been delayed due to the snow and frost. When we got to the meeting place, we didnt see any tour guides (we were looking for someone in a red beanie) or other tourists. We were about 15 minutes early (as per the instructions on the paperwork), so we stood around waiting for a while. I was thinking that surely if the tour had been cancelled they would have let us know. There were some women giving people information about the delay, so I thought Id ask them if they knew anything about the tour. Just as I was talking to them, the man with a red beanie walked in!
We went to check in, and soon our actual guide joined us too looked like shed been off trying to get information. Apparently the tower might open at 10:30am-11am. We waited until 10:30am, and a few more people joined us. Just standing around for so long, we were all turning into iceblocks. At 10:30am the guide went off again to get some more information. She came back and said there was still a possibility that theyd open at 11am, so suggested we go and have coffee and meet back there at 11am.
We went off with another solo Aussie that had joined the group. She was from Sydney and was there for a work conference. We enjoyed sitting in a heated room, drinking our hot beverages, and having a chat, but before long it was time to go again.
On our way back to the tower, we saw the guide. She had been coming to get us to inform us that they would have to cancel the tour for the morning as the opening had been delayed again, and might not be until after lunch now. She said that we could come back for another try at 2pm, but as we all had other plans for the afternoon, we had to arrange to get refunds. We said that if we found ourselves with some spare time during the week, wed call the tour company and arrange to tag onto one of their other tours. But I knew that we wouldnt come back into the city.
I was disappointed that I wouldnt be able to go up, as I hadnt had a view of Paris yet. After all, wed never been back to climb the tower at Notre Dame, and we hadnt even gone to the top of the Arc de Triomphe! We decided that we would go and visit the Arc de Triomphe, so at least Id get a view of Paris from one vantage point. While we were at the Eiffel Tower, I took a few more photos and Mum looked in the official souvenir shop. The snow was definitely melting, just not quickly enough for us!
We made our way back to Champs de Mars/Tour Eiffel station. By then our white path along the river had gotten a bit slushy and slippery! We managed to find out which train to take and station to get off, and found the platform. This would be the only time we took a metro train (the rest were all RERs)! It was a nice quick ride, and soon we were on our way again. Only, it took us about 10 minutes just to get out of the station lol! It seemed to be quite a big junction, and it was crazy with all the platforms and different kind of trains and lines. Anyway, on the way through we found the line we needed to get back to the hotel (which happened to be the same one we would need for DLP), and that was nice and close to the exit/entry!
There was no line at all to go to the top of Arc de Triomphe. We just walked up to the ticket office, bought our tickets, then climbed the stairs. We made it all the way up without stopping, which I was pleased with.
We came out in the bridge area, directly above the courtyard. There was a camera there where we could see the activity going on directly beneath us.
We walked up some more stairs, and on this level was a bit more information about the structure and all the sculptures that are part of it.
Then we climbed the final lot of stairs and came out at the very top. There were warnings everywhere about it being slippery due to the weather conditions, and one side was completely closed off. It didnt affect the views though, and we thoroughly enjoyed wandering around and taking it all in.
The good thing about the view from here, as opposed to the Eiffel Tower? That you could actually see the Eiffel Tower lol!
After wed had a good look around, we climbed back down the stairs. I always hate going downstairs and was holding onto that handrail like my life depended on it! Eventually we made it down to the bottom safe and sound, and made our way back to the train station.
Unfortunately wed ended up on the wrong platform, and caught the right train, but it was going the wrong way! Anyway, we realised when we got to the next station, and promptly disembarked and found the right platform. Then we were really on our way. This train was going directly to Gare de Lyon station, which was handy as it was the one just across the road from our hotel. Also, since it was the same train we would need for DLP, we could find out where we needed to go once wed collected our luggage.
Getting out at Gare de Lyon was also a mission! But eventually we made it, and had a bite to eat at the station before going to get our luggage. We were actually right on schedule still. Although wed saved time by not doing the Eiffel Tower tour, by the time wed hung around there, then gone to the Arc de Triomphe, it was actually around the same time as if wed have just done the tour. We grabbed our bags and headed back to the platform wed gotten off at. If I thought it was a mission getting out, it was more of a mission getting in with our suitcases!
Soon our train arrived, and we got some great seats right next to the door with plenty of room for our luggage. As we went further out, we noticed that it seemed to be starting to snow again. We watched the stations go past, and eventually got off at Val dEurope. It was really snowing again by then, so we hurried across the street to the hotel, checked in, and soon were up at our room. It was a nice big, modern room, and the beds were nice and comfy.
We decided to take the next shuttle to
Disneyland. They werent that regular in the middle of the day, and it was a while until the next one, so we thought wed get a hot beverage in the hotel bar before we left.
Then it was time to find the bus stop, which happened to be just across the road.
While we were waiting for the bus, we saw a curious kind of procession happening on the other side of the road. There was a group of little kids, all in costumes underneath their coats, and a few adults in costumes too, and a couple of older men in Robin Hood type costumes with a pan pipe type instrument and a drum thing. Then they all started dancing off down the road. Not long after that the bus arrived.
We couldnt see anything on the way. The bus windows had stickers on them, and between that and the snow, everything just looked white and fuzzy lol! We made two more stops on the way, but there werent many people. Then I recognised that we were heading into Disney property, and pulling up at the bus stop.
Continued in next post...