Guess Where? (Paris Part 3)

The next am, Mom, Dad, and I woke up bright and early to get in line at the Eiffel Tower. This was super smart of us. As soon as the line opened, we were at the front of it. Below is a photograph that Mom took of the lines from our position at the ticket booth at the front.

And this is a photograph I took from the Eiffel Tower looking down at the lines. This is less than half of the line because I was looking down at an angle from the inside of the tower.

Dad and I went up all the way to the top. Dad took this photo of me. In the distance you might be able to make out the miniature Statue of Liberty. As you may remember from history classes, the Statue of Liberty was a gift from France. So they have one of their own! Unfortunately, it is facing New York. So, it is not facing the Eiffel Tower.

In this close up, you can see her at the end of the island. This is also the reason I'm a bad tourist. Instead of focusing on the awesomeness of the Eiffel Tower, I am looking for the connections to America. This is the same reason the French lady was a bit snobby in Musee d'Orsay when I asked where Whistler's Mother was located (Surprise - she's on loan. And they have plenty of wonderful masterpieces by French artists that I should consider looking at...).

At the very top of the Eiffel Tower, there's a little bird's nest apartment where Gustav Eiffel used to hang out. This is also the location where he had a tete-a-tete with Thomas Edison. The meeting between those two is the scene enacted below. It's pretty much the coolest apartment forever. Dad and I weren't sure if Eiffel was able to use this as a pick up line or not. Like - it might seem really cool "Let me show you the best view in Paris, baby." However, there's the whole effort of convincing a woman to take the elevator all the way to the top of a steel construction with holes in it...

Dad had to hold me up while I leaned back to take the below picture. It was very intimidating.

Inside they had a graph showing the comparable heights of the tallest buildings in other countries. I think they must've also included the top 20 tallest or something like that because America appears more than once.

After the Eiffel Tower, we booked it to the catacombs. Where we spent another two hours waiting in line. This was frustrating, but totally worth it once we were inside. I don't know that it's the best thing in Paris, but we're very very grateful that we went. It also turned out that first thing that morning the line was already two hours long, so our decision to do the Eiffel Tower first was well founded. By "our" decision, I, of course, am referring to Mom's impeccable planning skills.

This gave me the opportunity to show off my rusty French skills as I tried to read the frequent French plaques that featured often creepy quotes about death and the afterlife.

Because we couldn't get enough of death, we headed straight out of the inner city so we could go to Pere Laichaisse. I'm so grateful that I saw the movie Paris, Je T'aime. Because that is the reason I wanted to go here. It's definitely the coolest cemetery a person could imagine visiting. Plus, it holds the bodies of some real rockstars - literally.

Below is Oscar Wilde's grave. It was the one featured in the short from the film. Unfortunately, Wilde's family (or someone) requested that this awful plastic barrier be placed around the grave. I was very upset about it. I had my lipstick all ready to find a clear part of the stone and leave my mark. After all, it can't be any more unhygienic than the Blarney Stone - and I've kissed that.

I took a moment to hum La Vie En Rose at Edith Piaf's grave.

I told you there were rockstars. Meet Jim Morrison's final resting place.

Most important (of course), Chopin's grave lies here. Though his heart is resting inside a church in Warsaw...