Paris by day, Eiffel Tower by night

So we rushed into the city, having overslept. We bought tickets on the city bus tour and hopped on until we arrived at the Opera house where we decided to get off.
We weren't sure what the inside was like, but we decided to shell out the 4 euros per person anyways and check it out.
No words could describe what we saw. It was so incredible! Definitely worth every euro cent. The careful detail and gold decoration just catch you off-guard. Chandeliers everywhere, paintings, statues, mirrors, it all comes together so well.
The grand staircase leads up to the boxes where royalty and nobility must have sat only centuries ago.
The actual stage room was undergoing renovation in places, but that did not take away from the design and luxury inside. The deep red of the seats, curtains and walls, the magnificent ceiling, it was almost inspiring.
Leslie and I read that Romeo and Juliet is starting there in October, and we are determined to get tickets. It was that amazing.
Then we headed farther north to visit Montmartre, a part of the city that Leslie loved the last time she was here.
It is this huge cathederal up on a hill. It was quite a climb, and some African men tried to tie braided bracelets onto our hand when we were walking up to make some extra cash. I got away by giving a stern NO as I walked quickly up the stairs, but Leslie practically had to football tackle the guy that approached her.
Okay, maybe that is a bit of an exaggeration, but the motions she had to make to avoid the man were somewhat characteristic of a dodgeball player in the heat of the game.
From the top of the hill, just below the cathedral, there is an excellent view of the city - we just sat down and watched for awhile, while people of all nationalities swarmed around us.
Then we did some tourist shopping just a few streets away.
After purchasing almost identical scarves (unintentional) and adding to our pin collection (we are collecting pins and postcards everywhere we go) we headed back into the center of the city to see the view from the Eiffel Tower by night.
Standing in line, we were able to watch the tower slowly light up as the sun set over Paris. So amazing.
I remember it was so windy and so cold. We did our best to bundle up in light rain jackets, our new scarves and the light sweaters we had.
We were the first two onto the elevator, which was amazing because then we got to pick prime spots to watch the city as we ascended.
Once you get to the second floor, you have to buy tickets to get to the top. So after some more standing in good old lines, we boarded the elevator to the top.
So windy and so cold! But worth it.
It was strange to think that we were so high up, because it did not feel that way. But the view was incredible - we could point out things we had seen, or things that Leslie knew from her last visit. The city lights were just beautiful.