Tea & croissant: The Eiffel Tower

You wouldn't think that I'd be content playing hide and seek with the infamous tower and not actually go up there? This is probably the best shot to showcase it; amidst some greenery with some flowers.

But that's not to say that it isn't as nice up close.

Paris is a very walk-friendly city even in the rain. Just be sure to have a fold-able umbrella handy. Or raincoat if that's your thing. Most definitely pray that the rain don't get too heavy.

Despite the drizzle, there were still some crowd around the area. There were few police cars and police men totting some rather mean looking guns too.

The area was cordoned off in some unsightly manner.

Not befitting the icon of Paris.

Just like how cats (and dogs) like to hide under our cars to escape from the heat (and rain), humans congregated under the base of the tower to avoid the drizzle.

An upskirt of the tower. Yes, it is humongous.

Perhaps the guy who built it. Well, sort of.

There are 3 levels. They don't quite translate to your usual first, second and third floors but really, just 3levels. This is the second.

You can purchase the ticket at the counter which was quite fast. It's only the queue to the lift that took some time. There is supposedly a staircase by the side that you can climb. We were rather geared for it but everybody was just queuing for the lift so we did the same.

The queue took maybe 30minutes. The lift ride about 5minutes. The carriage was a cramped, standing-only cabin.

Was it worth it? While it wasn't mind blowing, the view was certainly breath taking and different from the ground.

You get to see Paris from all directions. North, south, east , west.

But after awhile, you realize it's just different roofs that you are looking at.

Did you know that the Statue Of Liberty was actually given to the States by the French? I always thought that the Americans built it themselves 😌And somewhere in this picture is their compensation.

Or so that's what I heard from the tour guide below. Yes, I was eavesdropping because I was getting bored waiting for the sunset.

Occasionally, the view changes and something like this happens. But it's not long enough to keep boredom at bay.

The lower deck isn't much lower but I think the view on the second deck is nicer.

We were there in the evening, just before sunset to catch it in both daylight and night.

So yes, this is the progression by the hour.

There isn't much to do up there except to breathe in the fresh air and bask in the Parisian chic.

Be amazed by the cityscape and drown in its loveliness.

Then when you are bored, start to look at other people once you're done with the buildings.

Of course, you could visit the souvenir shop for some gifts. Of course, you also must expect to be ripped off and half of which are made outside of Paris but surprisingly some of them are.

If you have the money to splurge, why not have a meal there instead? Certainly nothing beats a candlelight dinner with a panoramic view of Paris.

If that's out of your budget, there are still some snacks to grab which won't burn (such a big) hole.

We were probably quite bored out of our wits by then but I didn't want to miss the night scenery either.

FOMO at its worst but can you blame me after all that traveling?

My wallpaper shot.

The sky finally started to darken and they turned on the lights.

All across the city, it looked like it was coming to life with lights.

If you are thinking of doing the same, maybe come here at 7.30pm, get up there by 8.30pm, spend an hour before coming down.

Don't get me wrong, Paris is beautiful either way.

It's just that there's only so much of the same scenery you can see even in different brightness and contrast.

The lonely moon. I just finished reading 1Q84 recently and took to looking at the sky to see how many moons there are. It's impossible but part of me wonders if there could be two moons after all.

In case if you are wondering, no, not much of selfies were taken.

These days, I don't selfie (much). Call it age, but mainly because my phone camera isn't very good 😢

These were taken using my trusty Panasonic Lumix LX3.

On the right is this. On the left is this.

I was glad we persevered and stayed till after the sun set because it was really different at night.

To descend from the tower, it's a much shorter wait for the lift. Maybe 5 to 10minutes. The wind can be rather cruel up there so have a scarf to warm your neck.