J's day out

Conquering a city has for some reason had its charm. Especially when you don't know the language, its even a challenge. With the husband having to go to office and being unable to obviously babysit me, I decided I had to spread my wings too. And so I undertook an excursion of my own. I had to find my way to college to greet the professors.. And then why shouldn't I just go to the Eiffel Tower and get some good day time shots? The weather was brilliant and there was no excuse really. My poor hubby probably thought I was going to be in lost world once outside the house and called regularly to interrogate my current location. Armed with the Metro Map and the ability to read, I was pretty much set. Off I went to the college armed with one more thing - the memory of having gone there once before. Once thats there, you pretty much tend to follow the steps rather than use the brain to maybe find easier routes. But on this case, I was spot on. I took the right bus and the right train and got off at the right stop (all thanks to the husband reconfirming it with me). And one small error. I needed to have found Sortie 3 (Exit 3) but instead happily followed the swarming crowd to Sortie 1 and found myself in completely unfamiliar surroundings. Having inspected a readily available map, I figured I was nearby but not right where I needed to be. Call the husband. After a few seconds of asking me where I did what and asking me to retrace my path, he informed me that I had the wrong exit. Alright then. On I marched to the right one and soon found myself surrounded with familiarity as I made my way to school with no further ado. After exchanging pleasantries, and a very-sadly-need-to-get-acquainted-lunch of simple salad, and some formalities later, I was free to find the Eiffel Tower. 2 Metros and 40 minutes later, I had the right stop. Now which among the 8 exits? I gave my elementary French some work and took a guess based on the names of the exits (the hubby didn't answer the phone).. and it turned out I was right! From sheer memory again, I walked out the station and found myself at the quarter... facing the Eiffel Tower. With brilliant blue skies, many trial panorama shots and many other pictures, the walk, the taking in of the mammoth structure was all worth my while. I was doubtful of the angle of the sun casting shadows on the East side of the tower and I walked a few long stretches to the other side and in the sun I couldn't see the results of my pictures. When I got home(by myself with no instructions) to load them on the computer , it was worth every second spent.