Mark JohnstonA DREAM COME TRUE TO SEE THE EIFFEL TOWER Britnee Johnston October 2 France, Round the World Trip, Travel I studied French in junior high and high school for a total of five years. I’m ashamed to say I don’t remember much of it (Utah doesn’t use French a lot.) A time it could’ve been useful would’ve been in Paris where my French class had the opportunity to study abroad in the summertime. Unfortunately, I never did since my family couldn’t afford it. My French teacher, Mrs. Davis, returned from one of these trips, and gave me a gold Eiffel Tower keychain. Although a small gift, I kept that keychain for a long time, dreaming of the day I’d see the Eiffel Tower in person. Ten years later, it became a dream come true when we flew into Paris and went to the Eiffel Tower on the first day. When Mark and I first stepped out of the metro station, I could see a small part of the narrow top sticking out of the trees. We kept walking and the tower slowly revealed itself as it grew right before our eyes. It was better than I imagined! We were soon walking underneath the structure looking up at it. It was an easy decision to make to pay the extra fee to go to the very top of the tower. It took two long elevator rides to get there. On the final stretch we kept thinking we made it to the top, but then the elevator would keep going even higher. When we finally made it, the sun started to dip as we took in the surroundings. At every spot there was a great view of the city with all the icons I learned about back in high school–Arc de Triomphe, Sacre Coeur, Notre Dame, the Louvre and Seine River. I loved our visit so much that I told Mark I’d go to the Eiffel Tower everyday if I had it my way. With the few days we had in Paris, we were only able to return on our last day. We came back at sunset to watch the light show where the Eiffel Tower flickered with hundreds of lights as it turned on. There was no better way to start and end my long awaited visit to Paris. C’est magnifique! If you go… €15/person to the top of the tower (includes two elevator rides) Take the metro to “Champ de Mars – Tour Eiffel” Light show starts at sunset www.toureiffel.paris
