For the last few months, a lot of people have asked Millie “what are you most excited for on your trip?” The answer has consistently been: going to the top of the Eiffel Tower.

A few weeks ago Nick thought to google if we needed to prebook tickets, and when I did I learned they were sold out of the duration of our time in Paris but that there were some available the day of. We set off this morning trying to temper expectations while still hoping we’d be able to go to the top. We were pleasantly surprised when there were some still available.

We waited in line for a while and then got shepherded into a very packed elevator up to the first stop: the second floor. This would be a no-go for anyone with any claustrophobia or fear of heights.

If it wasn’t for Millie I don’t think I would have cared to travel up in the tower, but I’m so glad we did. It was fascinating to see the inner workings and details of how it was all put together.

At the top it was cool to see the city from such a height. I’m glad we went today after already spending some time in Paris. We were able to point out the landmarks we now knew: the church near our Airbnb in Montmarte, Notre Dame, and the park where she rode a pony. I liked to see the geometry of the city and how it was laid out. It was such a clear day that we could see where the city faded out and greenery faded in.

Two lesser known special moments. First, we learned there is a bathroom at the very top of the tower. So Millie used the tallest bathroom in Paris. On our way down we saw all the pipes and imagined how far the poops need to travel to get underground.

Second, Millie got a shoulder ride around the top. Her eye level was higher than any another adult there. So for about 5 minutes she held the title for highest head in the whole city of Paris.

We waited in many lines to both go up and down again. On the way down we decided to take the stairs for some of it. It was strenuous on our legs but fun to really feel “in the tower”.

Once we were at the ground level we ate our picnic lunch and then set out on a boat tour of the Seine. This started pleasantly enough but about 20 minutes in Millie leaned a little close to the edge (it was enclosed and very safe) and an older French woman told her to step back. This triggered both her embarrassment and “am in trouble” feelings and she uncontrollably scream-cried for about 20 minutes, all while we were on a crowded boat with nowhere to go. These are the parenting moments that are really tough on both of us. We feel a mixture of empathy and also just wishing she would get over it. And it’s hard not to feel the silent judgment of others. We walked her around a bit so as not to subject the people right around us to it, but it was a low moment of the day.

The tour itself was okay. They need to cater to many languages so we could only understand about 20% of it. We probably got sunburns.

Once we were off the boat and mostly emotionally recovered from the meltdown in captivity, we met up with my old coworker, Pam. Pam and I used to work together at GitHub and prided ourselves on having the shortest and most efficient meetings. Today was our longest meeting since knowing each other.

Pam took us first to delicious ice cream near the Pompidou museum. They even had dairy free ice cream for Nick. Millie was in disbelief that she was being allowed ice cream outside of her sanctioned ice cream day of Friday. She said “this is the best day of my life”

From there we walked along the Seine to a playground near the Louvre. We chatted with Pam about life and Millie attempted to play with other kids (mixed success). At this point we had walked a lot (15k steps yesterday and today!) and she was so tired that she kept cuddling and saying “I want to be asleep” so we headed to the metro and back home. We had another mezze style dinner and got her to bed early. I think we’re all craving a day with less tomorrow.