CWT Journal – September 5, 2026 | Paris

Today we headed across Paris for one of the city's quintessential experiences: ascending the Eiffel Tower.

An elevator carried us to the second level, followed by another all the way to the summit. We'd heard people dismiss the tower as touristy or overrated, but standing nearly 300 meters above Paris annihilated that skepticism. We circumnavigated the observation deck for nearly half an hour, mesmerized by the seemingly interminable Parisian sprawl radiating toward every horizon. The girls loved it. So did we.

After methodically inspecting every gift shop on the descent, we encountered another kind of commerce outside the tower: vendors hawking souvenirs, belts, toys, and suspiciously familiar-looking designer bags. Two days earlier, Finley had fallen in love with a tiny Louis Vuitton purse costing €650, even volunteering her remaining CWT allowance—and another year's worth—to finance it. Dad declined this remarkably leveraged acquisition.

But now a street vendor had a nearly identical version for €70, creating an excellent impromptu lesson in negotiation. We coached Finley, rehearsed her strategy, and sent her into the fray. She offered €30. He countered €50. She went to €35. He dropped to €45.

Then Finley delivered her ultimatum: “I'll give you €40, and that's all I can do.”

Sold.

Watching her negotiate was almost better than the purchase itself. Bargaining is comparatively uncommon in American retail culture, but across much of the world it is an ordinary social ritual—part economics, part theater. Today Finley learned that the asking price is sometimes merely the opening sentence of a conversation.

We finished the evening over a beautiful dinner on a terrace with the Eiffel Tower rising above us. The weather was sublime; trees framed the streets, people drifted past our table, and Paris performed its nightly theater around us.

After dinner, Finley found an abandoned red beret on the ground. With her new purse slung over her shoulder and beret perched atop her head, she suddenly looked like she'd been preparing for Paris her entire life.

Somewhere between the summit, Finley's first successful negotiation, and dinner beneath the Eiffel Tower, Paris finally got me.

I understood why generations of artists, writers, lovers, and wanderers have become infatuated with this city.

A piece of me fell in love with Paris today.