Arriving in Paris Tour De Eiffel

This afternoon I left for Paris. The airline we chose to fly on (RyanAir), only flies out of the Ciampino airport, so it was kind of a hassle getting there. We had to take a cab, and the side of the city the airport was located on was congested with traffic all afternoon. Of course, we got stuck right in the middle of it, and it took us over an hour to get to the airport. On top of that, I was unaware that once we got to Paris we’d be an hour away from the city, so what I thought would be about three hours of travel turned into five. Regardless, the plane was on time, it was easy getting a bus into the city, and we pulled into our hostel at around 11.00 PM.Our hostel was located near Pigalle place. After arriving we figured out very quickly that we were located in the sex district. The last five minutes of our ride to our hostel took us by countless strip bars, and sex shops. It was really a site to see. I knew right away that the area we were staying in was going to be interesting. The first tourist site we passed was the Moulin Rouge. Although, it was located in the heart of all the flashing sex signs, it was not hard to spot. The letters were written in bright red lighting, and on top of the building was a huge windmill that spun a full 360 degrees. Everyone on our bus immediately began snapping pictures, and before I knew it we were at our hostel, a mere block away. 

I realized rather quickly that we were not very close to the Eiffel Tower. Fortunately, the metro was still running, so we quickly figured out which stop we needed and we headed to the heart of the city. We didn’t get to the Eiffel Tower until about midnight. As we loomed closer, the tower kept getting larger and larger. The lighting on the tower is very bright, and it made it glow a golden hue. The tower didn’t even look real when you got up close to it.

I didn’t realize that there was a light show every night at the Eiffel Tower. Hundreds of flashing lights cover the tower from the base to the top. There are three shows per night starting on the hour at 11:00 PM – 1:00 AM. The first two shows happen when the tower is still lit, the last show however begins after the main lights are turned off. This was my favorite of them all, it was incredible looking up at the 986 foot tower in complete blackness with hundreds of white flashes. It was almost mesmerizing standing close to the tower peering all the way up to the top. I couldn’t get a good picture of the actual lighting effect. The light show is really something you have to see in person to understand what it’s like. Luckily, I’ll have it in my mind for years to come.