I woke up with a resolve that I carry to this day. I got dressed and stopped at the corner grocery shop for a pack of LuLu cookies and made my way to the metro station.

Metro map in hand, I held it up to the window of the information booth and simply said:

“Eiffel Tower, si’l vous plaît.”

The unsmiling attendant pointed to the metro stop I needed and I put my finger on it to hold the spot and said:

“Merci!”

I was off!

That was the extent of my French, by the way.

I arrived at the Eiffel Tower, rode the elevator to the top, found a seat, and sat there eating my cookies and reading my letters from home through warm tears. Once done, I walked around the circle several times, marveled at the view, and decided that it was time to make this an adventure, come what may.

[End of Part 3 of 7]