Icons

I find my reaction to iconic landmarks/art varies over the years as I get my chance to see them.  I was overwhelmed when I first saw the pyramids in Egypt and my knees trembled, but I was also still in my 30s and a newbie to the world.  Seeing the temple of Borobudur in Indonesia was impressive and sad understanding how religious zealotry never wins in its path of destruction over something so ancient.  Seeing the paintings in Uffizi in Florence brought tears to my eyes in inspiration as these were the first really classic works of art I had seen up close.  Yet, the older I become, the more jaded I guess I get, but if you are at a place for the first time with no certainty of returning, you have to see the icons.  I was certainly excited to see the Eiffel Tower, but I also realized I may not be as impressed as I had hoped.  It was crowded, very crowded, with long lines buying tickets to go to the first level or buying more expensive tickets to go to the very top---and yes, you can walk it for free!  With the global terrorism permeating all that we touch, there were lots of guards and security gates and bag checks.  This is one reason I went to the top.  Who can imagine what idiot religious zealot would damage this structure in such a way that it would be closed for some time to come!  We were in line most of an hour, but the wait was worth it. (Click on photos for a closer experience.)

I used to think 1950's culture and Audrey Hepburn romances, etc. when I saw photos of this structure.

The reality is tired and bored guards waiting to go through our stuff, but a very festive mood among the crowd including one rather portly teenage French boy dressed in black slacks, white shirt, beret and fake mustache with artistic easel in hand---but I failed to get a photo. "After Gustave Eiffel experiments in the field of meteorology, he began to look at the effects of wind and air resistance, the science that would later be termed aerodynamics, which has become a large part of both military and commercial aviation as well as rocket technology. Gustave Eiffel imagined an automatic device sliding along a cable that was stretched between the ground and the second floor of the Eiffel Tower."

This is a rather handsome bust of the famous architect.  "The architect, Gustave Eiffel, an innovator in iron design, had worked previously on bridges, the west train station in Budapest and the framework for the Statue of Liberty. He watched his biggest project to date go up like a gigantic work of Lego: 18,038 pieces of iron were fitted together with 2.5 million rivets by more than 100 workmen who functioned almost like acrobats and stuntmen. Not one man lost his life during the construction."

Long lines waited ahead to ride the last elevator to the top if you purchased the more expensive ticket which we did.

...But what a view!!   And it reminds me, as it should, of Washington D.C.

Above you can see the Left and Right banks of the Seine.  Do not ask me which was which.  The river is not very clean in appearance, but there were no smells.  We were high enough to see the curve of the earth.

With binoculars you could watch a soccer game, although why so many are on the field I do not know!

The boat in the photo below moving in the center was the size of our cruise vessel and you can see how sometimes the height of the river closes the cruises that cannot pass under bridges and you must go by bus.

And, as in any good tourist place, there are many wanting to take your money in exchange for souvenirs.  These folks appeared to be from North Africa...Algerians?

This was one of my favorite views as I love that butt!!  Yes, I am getting weird in my old age.

And, of course one must have a romantic photo.  A quick and data filled video on the construction of this tower can be found at this link that follows next.  (http://www.history.com/topics/eiffel-tower)