July 18: Touring "la Tour Eiffel", and "au revoir" to Paris

We had to check out of our AirBnB flat by 11, but we were allowed to leave our packs there for the day, as the next guests at the flat were schedule to arrive around the time we would be leaving for the airport. We ate a mix of fresh croissants and leftovers for breakfast before heading out.

Our chief objective was to see the most iconic of Paris landmarks: the Eiffel Tower. We somehow didn’t end up requiring a crazy long line for tickets, and we bought the ‘combined’ option which allows you to climb stairs to the first two observations decks, plus an elevator ride to the topmost deck.

So many things have been written about the Eiffel Tower, it’s hard to pick particularly unique facts. One that stood out me - the Tower has been repainted several times since first erected in 1885, and each time it has been painted a slightly different colour! So some generations have seen it in a dark green, others in grey, or brown, or even a muted red!

Climbing the stairs was a feat, for sure, particularly in the extreme heat today. By the time we finished our exploring of the Tower, we ended up drinking ALL the water I was carrying, as much as we had consumed in any whole day of the past week! Fortunately, there was a bottle fill station in the Champ de Mars park.

We found a local grocery store and bought soft drinks and ice cream treats; a much more economical choice than buying treats from vendors on or around the Tower. Some park benches in the shade were a lovely spot to enjoy these, escape some heat, read our Lily book and throw a frisbee.

We made our way back to the flat for the last time to pick up our packs. Our host informed us that our impressions of the heat were not mistaken; this week Paris is expected to reach the highest temperature EVER recorded! Yikes!

Getting to the airport was another sweaty affair, involving walking with our packs for about 20 mins, then travelling by mostly non-air conditioned train for nearly an hour. I had a bit of a hissy fit trying to figure out how to check us in for our flight; the airline’s website wasn’t cooperating, and I discovered I had paid for our packs to be in the “hold” rather than the “cabin” as we had originally planned. I also had two plums in my carry-on that basically exploded their juice within the pack as it went through security. Then there was some stress in actually finding our departure gate; Charles de Gaulle has two terminals, subdivided by letters. The screens said we were leaving from Terminal 2B, but the boarding pass said 2D. 2B or not 2B - that was our question! Comedy of errors that is funny only in hindsight…

Our actual flight from Paris to Màlaga, Spain was uncomplicated. The kids watched movies and ate snacks I bought from the airport. Beth and I read part of a chapter from a book about C.S. Lewis, given to me by one of my patients who thought I would enjoy it. It’s basically a summary of Lewis’ thoughts on various topics, as if you were able to have lunch with him (he died a few decades ago). The current chapter is on the ultimate meaning of life, and how Lewis found this meaning in Christian faith. This is summarized in his famous quote: “I believe in Christianity as I believe that the Sun has risen, not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else.”

We arrived in Màlaga late, around 11 p.m., and still had to get our rental car and drive to our next AirBnB. Amazingly, we learned only at this point that there is no further going through customs or having passports rechecked or re-stamped on this trip, due to an agreement called Schengen that includes some 27 western European countries. Despite this time saver, the other details delayed us getting to bed until about 2 a.m. LONG day! But it is exciting to be here in the region where Beth and I celebrated our first honeymoon 25 years ago!