The Eiffel Tower was so frozen we weren’t allowed to go up. (Sergey Novikov - stock.adobe.com)
Editor’s Note: Brendan Raines is a student writer from Dr. Wiedemer’s and Ms. Ireland’s class at Spangdahlem Middle School (SY 24-25).
Once upon a time I went on a trip to Paris in the cold month of January, when the unthinkable happened. We were walking to the Eiffel Tower when we learned it was frozen, and the people wouldn’t let us in. This was such a letdown for me because I had always wanted to go to the Eiffel Tower.
To burn time, we went and walked around the city when I encountered the most legendary of Parisian foods: ratatouille. I wanted to try it because I loved the movie, and it looked pretty and yummy. In the movie, Remy the rat drizzles some sauce on the ratatouille. But on the street, it looked like vegetable slop, very thrown together, not a lot of work put into it: it made moi not want it. I did not dare smell it or touch it or even approach it.
Ratatouille did not look as yummy as the movie version (igorsm8 - stock.adobe.com)
After the ratatouille, I got a big eclair at a bakery. It was sweet and filled with chocolate in the middle and the pigeons started jumping on the table and eating my eclair. It was a fierce battle, but I eventually won.
After I finished it (and won the battle) we were told that we could go to the tower, and it was way bigger than I thought it was. After we went through the security line, we got to climb the tower to the second story, which was disappointing because I wanted to go to the summit.
On the second floor there was a photographer who was one of those bribers that doesn’t give you a choice and who my parents inevitably hired; he took some embarrassing photos. We then bought overpriced macrons in a lounge area where all the tourists were (including me). I could tell because of the English and the smartphones that were out.
The view from the second floor of the Eiffel Tower in winter. ()
But I did eventually have to come down and drive home. The worst part of the trip was the drive.
But Paris was one of the best experiences of my life.
