I got to be ON the Eiffel Tower last year when it sparkled at the top of the hour one night. It was magical. I don't think I've ever heard my husband be so amazed by something. It was a wonderful moment. Everyone should try to experience it if they can.
Wow! What a wonderful experience! I’d never thought about what it would be like to be on the tower. I will start recommending it to visiting friends and family (not to mention the lines are shorter at night).
Yes, exactly! We didn't have any tickets booked ahead of time and had seen the massive lines to get them during the day. Our hotel was right near the Eiffel Tower, so we decided to walk by around 9pm to see if we could get in. To our surprise, we walked right up to the ticket booth, got two tickets, and went immediately up. Best spontaneous moment of the trip! ❤️🇫🇷
I feared it gave too much credit to sweatpants-wearing Americans. I’m not comfortable with traditionalism of France but can also see that doing only what is comfortable has drawbacks for society and maybe for the soul too.
Loved this list, Elizabeth! I never knew the Eiffel Tower does a nightly shimmer! Funny how much I've read about it and Paris, and never heard that before.
Eating fine caramels and shopping for the perfect perfume in Paris sounds like a dream! Are you there now?
I was just there this weekend. My Frenchie husband has a small flat there, and he commutes between Switzerland and Paris for his job, so we are there often.
The sparkling effect has only been around since New Year's Eve 1999. It was supposed to be a one-time special moment to mark the new millennium, but people dug it, so it became a regular thing. That said, it was not without controversy (I mean, this is France), as some people found it gauche and a bit over the top, but I love it.
Franchement is great! But "EDIC," like "fetch," still isn't happening, no matter how hard some mean girls try to make it happen. And on that point, kudos for not negging the Eiffel Tower just because it happens to give a lot of people joy!
I’m not the one sorting everyone into derogatory “expat” groups while boosting LePen and Trump and claiming credit for popularizing the Heritage Foundation ideology currently driving resegregation. Honestly…some people are just bad!
You mean @Based in Paris? She and I, and it seems, you as well, could not be further apart politically, but that doesn’t make her a bad person. Spoiler alter: she’s a kind and generous human, and as much as I dislike her views on some issues, I like her a whole bunch.
It is not her political view that makes her a bad person, but her acting like an snapping turtle when someone likes France and her retaliations to anyone opposing her opinions.
Oh, she treated me terribly and in a truly unhinged way, but what’s truly unforgivable is the work she’s put in to ruining the economy and people’s lives. Throwing around the “r” slur isn’t even political; it’s cruel. Making up lies about “critical race theory” that wind up being used to destroy our government and resegregate our society is political, but it’s not hard to see that there’s a right and a wrong side of history, and which one she’s proudly on. And the rebranding to use a far right dog whistle is not a great look.
You're right, Michael. It started in 2000 to mark the turn of the new millennium; more than a few Parisians found it tacky and didn't want it to continue, but like you, I think it's pretty!
I got to be ON the Eiffel Tower last year when it sparkled at the top of the hour one night. It was magical. I don't think I've ever heard my husband be so amazed by something. It was a wonderful moment. Everyone should try to experience it if they can.
Wow! What a wonderful experience! I’d never thought about what it would be like to be on the tower. I will start recommending it to visiting friends and family (not to mention the lines are shorter at night).
Yes, exactly! We didn't have any tickets booked ahead of time and had seen the massive lines to get them during the day. Our hotel was right near the Eiffel Tower, so we decided to walk by around 9pm to see if we could get in. To our surprise, we walked right up to the ticket booth, got two tickets, and went immediately up. Best spontaneous moment of the trip! ❤️🇫🇷
Those are always the best!
Thank you so much for the shout out! 🫶
Thanks for the thanks!! How very nice of you. 💚
Something tells me you’re not the sneakers and sweatpants kind of American?
Correct! I am not. As one Parisian woman said, Americans in shorts, baseball caps and sneakers look like they've come to mow your lawn.
American lack of pretense confronting European class rules has a long history. Daisy Miller by Henry James.
I feared it gave too much credit to sweatpants-wearing Americans. I’m not comfortable with traditionalism of France but can also see that doing only what is comfortable has drawbacks for society and maybe for the soul too.
A perfect encapsulation of the struggle.
Loved this list, Elizabeth! I never knew the Eiffel Tower does a nightly shimmer! Funny how much I've read about it and Paris, and never heard that before.
Eating fine caramels and shopping for the perfect perfume in Paris sounds like a dream! Are you there now?
I was just there this weekend. My Frenchie husband has a small flat there, and he commutes between Switzerland and Paris for his job, so we are there often.
The sparkling effect has only been around since New Year's Eve 1999. It was supposed to be a one-time special moment to mark the new millennium, but people dug it, so it became a regular thing. That said, it was not without controversy (I mean, this is France), as some people found it gauche and a bit over the top, but I love it.
Lucky lady!
Franchement is great! But "EDIC," like "fetch," still isn't happening, no matter how hard some mean girls try to make it happen. And on that point, kudos for not negging the Eiffel Tower just because it happens to give a lot of people joy!
What's "fetch"?
https://youtu.be/Pubd-spHN-0?si=-DLZe56LBcpFGxYH
Ah, okay, but you get that in this scenario, you're the mean girl, right?
I’m not the one sorting everyone into derogatory “expat” groups while boosting LePen and Trump and claiming credit for popularizing the Heritage Foundation ideology currently driving resegregation. Honestly…some people are just bad!
You mean @Based in Paris? She and I, and it seems, you as well, could not be further apart politically, but that doesn’t make her a bad person. Spoiler alter: she’s a kind and generous human, and as much as I dislike her views on some issues, I like her a whole bunch.
It is not her political view that makes her a bad person, but her acting like an snapping turtle when someone likes France and her retaliations to anyone opposing her opinions.
Oh, she treated me terribly and in a truly unhinged way, but what’s truly unforgivable is the work she’s put in to ruining the economy and people’s lives. Throwing around the “r” slur isn’t even political; it’s cruel. Making up lies about “critical race theory” that wind up being used to destroy our government and resegregate our society is political, but it’s not hard to see that there’s a right and a wrong side of history, and which one she’s proudly on. And the rebranding to use a far right dog whistle is not a great look.
Perfume, chocolate and the Eiffel Tower at night. I’m that girl too! 🇫🇷
Welcome, my sister!
I've read people mocking the Eiffel Tower for the lights but I think they look fantastic.
You're right, Michael. It started in 2000 to mark the turn of the new millennium; more than a few Parisians found it tacky and didn't want it to continue, but like you, I think it's pretty!