"Eying The Eiffel"

January 25, 2011.

When someone looks at the Eiffel Tower, whether it's in a picture or in person, many things associated with the iconic Paris landmark come to mind.  Magic...glamour...mystery...intrigue...majesty.  And I would be remiss if I didn't include history on the list! History? Yes, history! It just so happened that on the late afternoon of February 28th, a Sunday, just an hour or so after I completed my tour around the Chateau in Versailles and took the RER-C back down the Yellow line to the Latin Quarter, I came into direct contact with Gustave Eiffel's architectural wonder, that striking vestige of Paris' storied past, when I held onto the rails and scaled five or six flights of stairs from the Jules Verne doorway to the first floor, feeling the very strong and cold winds rush in my face.  Had to hold on to my black Kangol cap for dear life! As I did, a local boy and his grandfather behind me stopped midway to catch their second wind.

My pilgrimage to the Eiffel Tower was clearly rewarding.  Nothing short of inspirational.  I got to catch a panoramic and breathtaking view of the beautiful city that Paris is, especially at sunset (even if it wasn't from le sommet), and shared a table with a seemingly nice local (and young) family, whose toddler son was coaxed into eating his gofres avec chocolat (waffles topped with melted semi-sweet chocolate).  As he did, I kept recording my adventures in my Moleskines over a dark chocolate beignet and cafe creme.  Tres bien ("Chocolate cake")!