no more skyscrapers in paris. they're ugly.

i went up montparnasse by myself today (well, not really completely by myself...ira glass was with me on my ipod and in my ears). i heard it was a gorgeous view up there, and the sun was shining, and i only have a couple days left, so i was like hell, why not.

i'm not sure what they're going for with the montparnasse 360 tour thingy, but they didn't hit it (unless "it" is bizarre and weird...then they got it spot on). i walk up to the building and look for a line of people waiting to get in. even though it's thursday afternoon at 1:30 pm, i figure there's still gotta be a big demand for montparnasse. i mean, come on, it's the only skyscraper in paris. so anyway, i get there and i don't see a line, but i see some signs that point to "tour montparnasse 360" so i'm like cool, i think i found it.

i walk to the doors and there's a guy standing outside smoking, just kind of looking at me. i'm used to people giving me funny looks now, so i didn't really think much of it. i tried to open the door, but i couldn't. well, dammit, what should i do? the smoking guy was like "no, you have to pull it hard." so i did, blushed, mumbled, "merci" and headed inside.

i still saw no line (HELLO? nobody wants montparnasse right now?!), so i kind of poked around the lobby area for a while. i looked at what was probably a ticket booth with a girl sitting inside, but she didn't even glance at me, so i figured i must have been in the wrong place. but then i looked around the corner and saw nothing promising, so that girl must be the one i get my ticket from. i walked up and i go, "j'achete mon billet ici?" i figured out that this was the wrong thing to say because she responds to me, "sorry?" oh, whatever, screw the french language attempts. i bought my ticket and made my way to the elevators.

it's weird in montparnasse because it's only a tourist attraction on the 56th floor. the other 55 are just regular floors with offices and workers. so i was wandering around with fanny and my camera, making my way around the important businesswomen on their way to whatever was more important.

anyway, i get in the elevator with three other people, one of which may or may not have been a worker. the elevator goes up really fast (that's like montparnasse's "thing," next to being really freakin tall). i pop out and nobody greets me, nothing says where to go...you just enter this café/gift shop area.

the good thing was that there were some more people up there (not a lot...some)...the odd thing was that they were all old. you know, like 80 years old. i guess that's what you do when you're old and retired in paris...hang out at the top of montparnasse. there was NOBODY in the indoor viewing room, and only 4 people on the very top terrace outside.


i couldn't decide if they were trying to do the old paris/historical thing or if they were trying to do a new fangled concept (they=whatever untalented souls designed tour montparnasse 360). there are old pictures of paris and maps through the times showing how paris has changed, so there's the history part. but then, on the elevator to the top and the steps to the terrace, there are these neon blue and green lights, like you're in some back to the future dealy. OH and on the steps there are two randomly really nice flat screen tvs that show pictures of things totally unrelated to paris...boats on some bay, a waterfall, other nature things.

i don't get it. maybe it was because i went up on a thursday afternoon by myself, or maybe it's because there was poor visibility, but i just wasn't a fan of montparnasse. i'd go up the eiffel tower over that anyday.