~~~
~~~
Paris - Page 2
Click on the pictures to enlarge
 |
The Eiffel Tower as seen from the Seine. [another Seine view] |
 |
Some still desire to raze the Tower, designed by Gustave Eiffel for the International Exhibition of Paris of 1889. The tower initially drew the criticism of Maupassant and Emile Zola, among others. |
 |
One individual opposed to the Tower ate lunch daily in the Tower's second floor restaurant because "it is the only place in Paris where I cannot see that Tower." A meal there runs around US$85/person, excluding wine, so this particular fellow must have been quite wealthy! The restaurant, the Jules Verne, is named for the author of Around the World in Eighty Days, whose protagonist visits Paris after leaving London. [Zagat review of the Jules Verne] |
 |
The underbelly of the tower reveals an impressive steel structure that was the world's tallest until 1930, although it was nearly razed in 1909 to provide scrap steel. |
 |
There was no line in the evening, but I chose to save a few francs and climb the stairs of the first two floors myself, quite an undertaking because these "floors" are way up there and there isn't much separating the climber from a big fall! (The most observant people may find that this picture--taken while looking down--is upside-down... I think it looks better that way.) |
 |
A glass-top elevator takes visitors from the second platform to the top, where this beautiful sunset over Le Defense was seen. To the east, a magnificent thunderstorm came sweeping in, providing quite a light show but |
 |
The lower observation deck at the top of the Tower has a "map" of the world's major capitals and big cities with rough directions and distances from the Tower. I found London, Delhi, Hong Kong, Melbourne, and Honolulu listed... and promised myself I would see them. After the sun set was a perfect time to explore the Arc de Triomph and Champs-Elysées. On Les Champs-Elysées, I decided I needed a *much* bigger memory card for my camera if I wanted to make it all the way around the world! |
>> Next Page: Madrid >> |
|
