Long story short

We were evacuated from the Eiffel Tower today by police and National Security Officers. The alarms were blaring while we all rushed down hundreds of stairs after watching police officers putting on what looked like protective bomb gear. I wish my understanding of French were more clear because the entire kitchen staff of the Jules Verne was behind us and I am sure they had more information than we did. No idea what was going on. We only knew that we had climbed the stairs to the second tier only to have to climb all the way down again. Once they surrounded the tower plaza with men with big guns, we decided to leave. No one seemed particularly panicked, mostly inconvenienced, which make us wonder how often this may occur.

We decided we needed more stairs so we went to climb the ones at the Arc de Triumph. The view was spectacular and the momument breathtaking. After viewing Paris from the top, we headed back to the Eiffel Tower again. Things looked back to normal, so we climbed back up to the second tier again to catch the lift to the top. Climbing to the top of the stairs of the Arc and then the top of the stairs at the Eiffel Tower twice was definitely a fine workout. Did I mention that we walked over 25 kilometers today, too?

Fell in love with the greener aspects of the city today. There were fabulous rooftop gardens, buildings completely covered in greenery. There were even scooters covered in green. Anither thing that I am charmed with is the city's program that allows anyone to rent a bike from dozens of locations all around the city. The program must be popular because we see the bikes everywhere and despite passing dozens of rental locations every day, this is the first one that had any bikes.


Much more to tell, but it will have to wait. We are very tired and it is very late.