La Tour Eiffel

After lunch at Krishna Bhavan, we hopped on the Metro for the trip across Paris to the Eiffel Tower. We got off at the Trocadero station so that we could approach the tower from the Palais de Chaillot which offers a remarkable panoramic view.

The map below marks the Trocadero Metro station in the upper left with a blue M. From there the green space and streets run to the south-east across the River Seine to Parc du Champs de Mars. This is the area where the Eiffel Tower stands. It’s hard to see it from above but can you pick out its shadow on the map? Wonderful picture that Google took!

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My first view of the tower from the wide esplanade between the two wings of the Palais de Chaillot was amazing. As you can see on the left, the esplanade is laid with tiles that draw your eye up to the tower. It truly enhances your impression.

The day was cloudy but as the afternoon wore on, the sun began to come out to cheer us up. However, it got very cold and windy! It may be that the open area between Palais de Chaillot and the Parc du Champs de Mars encourages any wind, and we really felt it that day.

However, it didn’t keep us from exploring the area around the bottom of the tower. There was not enough time to take a trip up the elevator or stairs to the top. We will do that another time. Today is just my introduction to one of Paris’s most famous monuments.

As we moved towards the tower, we could see the area in front with the skating rink and the fountains – an interesting and chilly combination. On the left and right are many wooden kiosks full of Christmas gifts and merchandise of all kinds to sell to the tourists.

Everywhere there were street vendors carrying miniature Eiffel Towers made of metal and strung on wire. At intervals, they would jingle them to catch your attention – just in case you hadn’t seen them!

I was thoroughly captivated by the tower, the Palais and the whole area. My eye was drawn to so many places that it was hard to take it all in. I took a number of pictures, but I know I didn’t do it justice. I will be back several times during my stay to see if I can truly capture the character of the place – and of course, to go up the tower!

I have read that some Parisians do not like the architecture of the Palais de Chaillot, but I was drawn to it for some reason. The two wings seem to embrace and reach out to the tower, and it seems to be an integral part of the whole complex of buildings and green space.

This is only my second day in Paris, but on both days I have seen soldiers. Is this some kind of omen or a regular occurrence in this city?

In the photo to the right you can see two of the soldiers standing at the base of the tower. I tried to avoid making them aware that I was taking their picture. At one point, I could tell they weren’t sure what I was up to, and I thought they might approach me, but I pretended to admire the bottom of the tower until they lost interest in me. Then I quickly snapped my photo and moved on.

There was time for one more quick photo before we headed for the Metro and made our way back to the flat. The bust of Gustave Eiffel, the engineer who had designed the 1,063 ft. tower, drew my attention.

This has been a full day considering I am still experiencing serious lack of sleep, but it has been a good introduction to the city and to the Eiffel Tower. I look forward to coming back to the tower one evening soon to watch the light show they put on every hour between 8 and 11 pm. Should be a wonderful show!

To see more of the photos I took that day check my Flickr website A bientot!