Eiffel Tower - June 2



Bldgs. flanking both sides
 of the  northern entry
 to the Eiffel Tower and its esplanade 



I think the French copied a lot of Santa Maria's architecture.  Don't you see the resemblance to the Santa Maria Mall?

Our first view of the
world's
tallest antenna

From this huge tiled entryway, you get your first breathtaking glimpse of the Tower.
Honestly, don't you think that as a child Gustave Eiffel had issues with lightning?  Or, perhaps his parents wouldn't buy him a real Erector Set, so he built this 7,000 ton, 1,050 ft. compensation model.







Ralph vs The Tower

There are no short people in the
Tilton family.  Here is living proof that Ralph is as tall as the first floor of the Eiffel Tower even when he is hunched over.  (Notice the cool shades?)

Looking back at the
humble north entry designed in the
unpretentious French tradition




The Tour Eiffel and
Parc du Champs de Mars
(what I call the esplanade,  I
think its so much more French)

This is the beginning of the esplanade where you can walk, bike, and sometimes get run over on your way to get under this 7,000 ton steel structure that was inaugurated in 1889 and built to last 20 years.

If you come here, be sure you bring water and comfortable shoes as you cannot even see the famous building at the other end of the esplanade in this picture because it is so far away.



Looking back at the north entry
and that tiled deck



If Santa Maria had picked Paris as her "sister city" we'd have had some real fountains.



A real, honest to God,
Merry-go-'round

Again, in the unpretentious French tradition: a gold emblazoned, musical, double deck merry-go-'round with enough ponies so every child in Paris could ride at once.  This thing just pops up outta nowhere, on your walk to the tower, so of course we bought an ice cream cone and rode on it.  Wouldn't you? Why a merry-go-'round you ask?  Well, I think this property belonged to royalty or Michael Jackson.



Is it the Thames, the Voltava, 
the Rhine, or the Seine?

Here's the "iron lady" from across the river Siene .  We all know that the Tower has been a target of some religious fundamentalist radicals; however, it is never so clear as when you walk merrily across this wide bridge and come face-to-face with camouflaged, armed-to-the-teeth, flak-jacketed, carbine carrying, French soldiers patrolling the area three abreast, and not one of them  smiling -- go figure.

Crossing the bridge
you can wave at the
rich people taking
boat tours on the river

 If you have time (we didn't) a boat tour on the Seine would reveal some interesting places and facts about this beautiful and awe inspiring city.

Standing beneath is 
truly overwhelming

It  was disappointing to find out that I wasn't even as tall as the Tower's first floor -- oh well.
I know it is written; however, I cannot believe that many Parisians including author Guy de Maupassant launched petitions to prevent the "iron lady's" construction calling it a "hollow candlestick", a "bald umbrella", and a "monstrous construction."  Especially, when on the other hand, she is called the "queen of Paris.

How's the view 
straight up
dead center 
from ground level

Even though I shuddered with the fear of exposing my weirdness, I had to take this picture to show some of the 18,000 metal sections put together with 2.5 million rivets.  I nearly fainted when I discovered that the second floor blocked my view to the top.



On the esplanade looking back



Carol is our family photographer (Ralph is the writer with the weird sense of humor)  and looking at this shot you can understand why she's the photographer:  I think it is truly a beautiful composition.

Gustave Eiffel's famous
Tower and beloved
symbol of France

This is it, the whole ball of steel, in all its glory; it is a spectacular feat of  creative iron engineering -- the mother of all metal sculptures.

























Any angle, still beautiful

Sure it is hard, cold steel, but from every angle it is also a thing of beauty and you remember what John Keats said about that: "A thing of beauty is a joy forever; its loveliness increases; it will never pass into nothingness.

.



If you look closely
you will see people
on the Tower waving
to us as we leave.

With this French symbol forever etched in our memories, we waved goodbye and moved on to the Musee du Louvre.*

*Warning to all travelers:
Travel maps show the neat places that you want to see all close together.  You must see through this deception or carry a bottle of Advil and a canteen of water with you at all times.