Sacré-Coeur

Sunday 30 May 1999. Once we had left the coach on the Boulevard de Rochechouart, we passed a line of sex shops and live shows that all the men would have liked to see and all the women were determined we wouldn't. We made our way excitedly towards the highest point in Paris.

After climbing through narrow streets to Rue Tardieu we saw the gardens and the 237 steps up to the church of Sacré-Coeur (Sacred Heart). "Stop worriting about those sex shops, Mildred," muttered one of our party, looking in dismay at the long series of steps, "I've changed my mind..."

One look at all the steps leading upwards made some of the party look left towards the funicular railway, but then first to start springing up the steps was Edna, whose 86th birthday it was that day. Everyone else followed... Buskers were at work on the steps, including one hopeful who was trying to get people either side of him to sing along in competition with the other side! Reportedly Sacré-Coeur is not the favourite Parisian monument with the locals... The stone secretes calcite whenever it rains and thus bleaches the outside, leaving it the eye-catching pure white that is seen above. At least one guide book condemns it simply: "The interior is cavernous and little else. You'd do better to stay outside on the terrace..."

We did venture inside (not having taken the guide book with us!) and there certainly was not much to stick in the mind except what I can only describe as bouncers on the door...

There was a rather spectacular view over the city from the top of the terraces. We are about to enter the area of Montmarte and the artists' quarter. The ladies are once again asking if anyone knows the French for "cup of tea laced with bromide".

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Up the Eiffel Tower

31 January 2008. We arrived at the foot of the Eiffel Tower and joined a small queue that was zig-zagging along the railings towards the ticket office.

The ticket office was having no problem at all keeping up with the queue for the lifts. A large party in front had pre-booked so were ignoring it so I nipped up the few steps and on seeing me do so, the Italian couple who had been in front of us decided they too needed tickets.

I waved them forward, past me and he stammered "Gratzi! ...er... merci!" so I showed off a bit of multi-lingual skill.
"Prego!" I grinned and they laughed and then again as I spoke in English to Fran. The large party were climbing the stairs, which meant single file, so we hadn't long to wait for the lift. We piled in and set off upwards.

Unfortunately the Eiffel Tower was only open to the second level which meant we couldn't go all the way to the top. But even the second level is 115.75 metres (about 375 feet so not as high as Blackpool Tower!) High enough for superb views though. And with the brilliant sunshine we made the most of it, picking out the landmark sites. Sacré-Coeur was easy to spot on its hill on the horizon.

The golden dome of Les Invalides also was easy to spot and when I swapped my camera lens for the telephoto was stunningly impressive.

It took us quite a while and gave us a bit of fun before we managed to spot the Arc de Triomphe. This was to be our next destination after leaving the Tower and I wanted to walk from there down the straight line along the Champs-Elysée through Le Jardin des Tuileries down through the smaller Arc de Triomphe du Carousel to Le Louvre, the famous museum that houses the art collection including the Mona Lisa.

Before we do that walk, however, let's have a look from our high viewpoint. The bridge with the golden dragons on their high pedestals is St Michael's bridge and looking straight down we can watch over people walking in the park at the tower's foot.

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