Besides taking a short boat tour on the Seine River our first evening in Paris, our first order of business was to walk the length of the tree-lined Champs Elysees to the base of the famous Arc de Triomph – and then climb to the top of it.

The view at the base and the top was amazing, but the climb to the top and back down is quite another story, as I’ve developed an increasing fear of heights in the past 7 or 8 years. Even though the stairway was enclosed and its sides encased by trusty handrails, my stride strode slower and slower with each mounting and dismounting step, and not a little bit of wobble. It was enough to make me fear the Eiffel Tower climb we’d planned for the next day!