7/20: 3 Days, 3 Countries

For today's travels, we accomplished a new feat for us: 3 days, 3 different countries. Germany, Austria, and today, France! We made sure not to miss it or be rushed catching our train, so we rose early to pack.

It was rainy outside, so after checking out we hailed a cab to the Hauptbahnhof. No problem.

We boarded an ICE(Inter City Express) train to Stuttgart, then boarded a very fast HGV train to Paris. It wasn't fast enough for my liking, however, because a family sitting across from us had the loudest, worst-behaved child on the planet. Seriously, we're talking Spawn of Satan, possessed demon of Hell type of child. Annie tried stifling my poorly-concealed derision toward the kid's disrespectful/enabling/awful parents, so I was amused when the kid started sneezing and coughing directly onto Annie (who is a MAJOR germaphobe).

After an interminable wait, we finally arrived at the Paris Est station. The metro ride to our stop at Charles de Gaulle Etoille was a breeze, followed by a one block walk to our lodging: Hotel Regence Etoille.

ABOVE: View from our balcony of the Arc de Triomph.

We checked in without problem and found our accommodations suitable--we even had a view of the Arc de Triomph, just up the street from us!

The "Etoille" in our hotel name (and about every business nearby) means "star," which is a reference to the star-shaped intersection at the Arc de Triomph. About eight straight avenues, including the famous Champs Élyssés, converge into this huge roundabout that encircles the Arc, and from above, it resembles--you guessed it--a star.

Having unloaded our bags, we grabbed dinner at a restaurant on the corner of our street, then walked to the Eiffel Tower. It was very impressive, and we definitely gawked, marveled, and stared.

For nearly two hours, we walked under, through, and around the tremendous steel structure (once loathed and nearly deconstructed by Parisians). We viewed it from across the river, then from the Champs de Mars, a garden area on the other side. We lingered until nightfall, anticipating the Tour Eiffel being lit. The flood lights came on around 9:30pm, which made for a lovely new perspective.

ABOVE: Amor

But THEN came the big surprise, for me at least: dozens of scattered bulbs on the tower began blinking on and off like strobes at 10pm. The effect made the tower sparkle, which was really cool to see...until the strobes turned off after only five minutes.

We learned that the city illuminated the strobes for only five minutes at each hour, but we could only guess why the duration was so brief: Utility bills? Tourist gimmick? Complaining residents?

Too many confused moths?

We were actually being rained on during the sparkle show, so when the lights quit, we were ready to leave. It was about ten minutes' walk home, which we spent slogging through the streets, happy to be in Paris.

Paris July 20 Album:

Paris: July 20, 2011

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Location:Munich to Paris