Eiffel Tower – Been There Done That

I have seen the Eiffel Tower in every possible place but in real life. It is in books, movies, advertisements, television and its face is recognizable anywhere. It is part of every Paris tour. That is how I got there. I signed up for an excursion from London. We got up at 4:30 in the morning and took the Euro Star through the “chunnel”.

I loved Paris as a whole. I think I liked the city better than London. I know that is sacrilegious coming from a WASP from the Deep South. Most of my ancestry came from the British Isles, so when I say that Paris was prettier than London, I do so quietly. We did a bus tour before we got to the Eiffel Tower.  We had a young guide who was good at laughing at his own jokes, but little else. He put the bus full of us out and said “Go up the tower, get something to eat and be back in an hour and a half. Obviously, he like us, had not done this much.

I had heard all the tales about pickpockets who made their whole living at the Eiffel Tower. We had already encountered a horde of them at the Changing of the Guards at Buckingham Palace, so we were not quite as naïve as we would have been. People from rural Southwest Alabama are naturally trusting. We think because we like everybody, they are going to like us, too. Furthermore, if you like somebody, why would you bother their stuff? Nobody that I ever heard of in rural Southwest Alabama makes a living as a pickpocket. There are good reasons why. One is that if they got caught doing it, whoever they were hitting on wouldn’t wait for the police, they would beat the living hell out of the pickpocket on the spot. Plus, since everybody knows everybody else, they’d tell the whole town and that would be the end of the pickpocket career. Reason two is that very few people carry enough cash to make this form of thieving profitable. There are a few kleptomaniacs around scattered in the general population, but since everybody knows who they are, including their families, items taken are quietly returned, so nobody beats hell out of them.

The pickpockets at the Eiffel Tower are a whole different breed. In fact, they are several breeds. There are the run of the mill pickpockets who sell souvenirs out front. They work in groups so that one can distract you while the others surround you. The one nearest the pocket will strike so quickly your never know what hit you. The thing to do is stay with your own group if you are a tourist. The other pickpockets mingle with the crowd on the tower itself.

I had only one companion with me on the Paris trip. The others in our party had done Paris last year and spent the day shopping London. The two of us tried to follow the instructions about going up and finding something to eat after a look at the city. The entire day tourist population of Paris had the same idea. With our limited time and threat of being left behind, we decided to forgo lunch. It took 20 minutes to get in the bathroom which had a traffic director letting you in 3 at a time. WE couldn’t even find the way to the elevator, so we decided to walk down. Walking down the Eiffel Tower is a bad move. Remind yourself never to do it, given any other option other than jumping. It didn’t seem too bad at first, until we got surrounded by a group of 4 girls going very slow. Apparently, they, too were in the pickpocket business. When it dawned on me, I said to my companion. “Go around them. Start walking fast and don’t ask any questions.” We took off at a gallop. Put that on your list of things not to do at the Eiffel Tower. The girls sped up, too and a couple passed us. WE saw them coming back up shortly. They passed us and went to look for new tourists. Who goes back up the Eiffel Tower, for goodness sake, except someone up to no good? Going down is hard enough. I was making pretty good time, so I hazarded a look toward the ground. It scared me good. It made me realize how far I still had to go as well as how far up I still was. We made it down in time to load the bus. I didn’t realize the full impact of the walk down until the next day. My legs have never been so sore. For three days, I felt every bend and step I made in a bunch of places I didn’t even know existed.

Luckily, our next stop was on a barge to travel down the Seine. We got to sit the whole time on it. I think the barge ride was my favorite part of the day. I don’t know whether it was for the scenery or for the chair I sat in.

We still hadn’t had lunch and it was 4pm Paris time. We got to the Louvre and went to find something to eat. It took practically the whole time allotted to eat at Marley’s, their most famous café. We got to sit down there, too. I saw very little of the museum itself. I really felt like I missed a great experience. I intend to go back there and back to the Victoria and Albert Museum in London before I die. I really felt like that death could be imminent for the few days after walking down the Eiffel Tower. Been there. Done that –mark it off my list of things to do!

TIPSY TEA AT THE WINTER COURT

My dream has always been to go to High Tea at some good place in England. I have always loved British novel and tea. I wanted to go to an authentic place and have it. When I knewI was going to Britain that was the first thing I put on my to do list. Just as some of my friends wanted to go up in the Eye and I went along to be a good sport, so did they accompany me to my dream scenario. We couldn’t get in the Ritz on short notice, so we went to the Winter Garden at the Landmark Hotel. It is new by British standards, late nineteenth century. It was all we hoped for. It was a courtyard under glass that looked just like an upscale mall in Virginia that seems to be copied from it. It was light airy and had huge potted palms like the conservatories in many of the novels I read. In the mall in Virginia, they had potted palms, but they were made of copper.

There were seven of us. I had the regular tea menu, but some of the group had a chocolate tea, which I would choose next time because everything about it, but the sandwiches was chocolate. Thank goodness, the friends who did the chocolate tea were generous in sharing, so we got to try it all. The high tea was accompanied by champagne. I do not generally like champagne, but with the tea goodies, it was delightful. Waiters in tuxedos hovered over, refilling glasses and teapots regularly. We got slightly tipsy. We are proper ladies, so it was as much a surprise to us as anybody. We had a delightful giggly time.

I  often go to tea at the Windsor Court Hotel  when I am in New Orleans, so the whole ceremonial effect was  to new to me. The menu was the same. We started out with tea sandwiches = chicken salad, cucumber. egg salad,and salmon. That must be traditional because they were the same on both continents – only the English sandwiches had no mayonnaise or cream cheese on the bread. I found this to be true of all british sandwiches – rather dry. Next came the scones in the US, whereas in England, they were served last. They came with clotted cream. In the US, we had lemon curd as well as the clotted cream and raspberry jam. The sweets were a lovely assortment. Which we enjoyed, but I envied the chocolate tea. I had Earl Grey tea, which is my favorite. We tried several different pots among us. Some of my friends had herbal tea with no caffeine. I always feel like what’s the point if you don’t get your caffeine jolt, especially if you’ve walked a hundred miles around the city. They piano music was softly tinkling in the background. It was all quite elegant. We giggled and sipped our way through a delightful afternoon. Some of the group was not were not too keen on going to tea, but once they got there, they were glad they came. I don’t know whether it was the atmosphere, the whole experience or just the champagne, but the Tipsy tea is a must do if you ever get to Britain.

Souvenirs of England and Paris

I left home knowing I was not going to buy much. I knew that the pound and the euro were worth a lot more than the dollar at the moment, even after the Greeks pulled their money stunts, I knew that food was not included in the cost of the tour and that most of my resources would go toward that end. I also had gotten a good deal on a triple strand of small pearls on ebay exactly three days before departure. I’m glad I got those pearls. All jewelry was very expensive in Europe. I got my mother a fake rhinestone flower basket pin at Windsor Castle and it cost me $50.

I did my limited souvenir in the gift shops of the historic sites and at the National Trust stores which benefit the historic sites. Their shops are stocked with things picked out by cultured little old ladies with taste. Also, they must be impoverished gentlewomen because the prices are reasonable. Notice, I didn’t say cheap. My souvenirs need to have a sense of place to be meaningful. Also, these days, one suitcase is all you get unless you pay dearly. I did take a fairly large shopping bag from an American shopping mecca that is trying to get us to use recyclables. I put my purse in it on the return trip to make it my personal carryon item. Still, the things I bought were small. I bought music twice - a choral and organ CDs at St Paul’s Cathedral (where Charles and Di got married) and a set of  3 CDs of symphonic music by famous classical orchestras called “A Walk in the Countryside”. I have been playing the music constantly since I got home. The music gives me a great sense of the places I have been. I bought a heavy plaid wool throw (they call it a lap rug). I was a little worried about its weight, but I didn’t go over my 50 lb limit with it. It was cold enough when I got home with what our nanny used to call “the Easter snap” that I sat under it all day Sunday when I got back listening to my imported music. I always tend to buy music, books, and something to eat.

I love food. I tell everybody that food is one of my religions and I worship at every shrine I pass. What you can bring in to eat as limited. I .of course, got tea. England is famous for its tea drinking. I did a good bit of tea drinking there. Earl Grey is my favorite for everyday drinking, but I love fruit flavored teas. I looked all over to find some. There was this sleazy little shop across the  hotel that had some. I didn’t like dealing with them because they cheated one of our party out of her change the first night. They were from a county that doesn’t much like tourists, especially women. Once they did that to her, I didn’t like giving them business. When she objected, they returned the right change, but it’s buyer beware. I searched all over for my tea. I didn’t want English Breakfast or Afternoon Tea. I finally found some flamboyant fruit varieties at Harrod’s. I think of the Food Halls at Harrod’s as a branch of heaven. I had read about them years ago in Gourmet Magazine. I had put a trip there on the top of my wish list. It didn’t disappoint. I went into the take away bakery and go some interesting things. I got a cheese and onion bread that was filled with browned onion slices and topped in the cuts with real sliced parmesan cheese. I can make that at home as I can the other pastries I tried. In fact, my favorite souvenir of all was the tastes I brought home to try. There was a cream cheese filled pastry that was flavored with lemon juice. The lemon made it probably the best cream cheese pastry I ever had. I’m going to make my special cream cheese braids for Easter and this time use lemon juice instead of vanilla. The best thing I got there was given to me by a friend who bought and didn’t want to keep up with it. It was a kind of pizza like bread that had fresh tomatoes and pesto baked on top. When you bit into itr, it was loaded with stuffed olives. I am an adventuresome cook who rarely uses recipes. I can taste something and tell what is basically in it. I knew I could make this. I came in today and did it. I whipped the pizza dough up in my food processor. I pulled it out thin and put the olives on. I used sliced olives because that is what I had. I have some very good pesto in a refrigerated jar from Sam’s. I bought some roma tomatoes at the grocery store because they are the only kind fit to eat this time of year. The English love their tomatoes. They even broil them for breakfast. We had a full English breakfast buffet at the hotel where we stayed that included the broiled tomatoes. It also included pork and beans. Of course, I tried them and decided beans on toast was a taste I had yet to acquire.

I guess my favorite souvenirs are the food memories I bring back and try to recreate in my own kitchen. The pizza bread is rising on the counter as I write. Some friends are coming over this afternoon to hear about the trip. I’m going to try it out on them, so they can tangibly share my souvenirs. I couldn’t fit them presents in my suitcase, but they’ll having something I made just for them that I’d never have known about without the trip!

I have a confession to make. Alongside the pizza bread rising, I have a pot of butterbeans and okra seasoned with Conecuh sausage cooking. I was hungry for some home cooked food that tasted like rural Southwest Alabama.