Mais Oui Paris - Part 2

As you all know one of the most famous Parisian landmarks is the Eiffel Tower and as cliche and touristy it is to go to the Eiffel Tower, one absolutely must go see it. Unfortunately, (for me and other confused tourists) the closest metro stop to the Tower is now closed for renovation - brilliant - of course I didn't figure this out until we were riding by and didn't stop for another 10 minutes.

Even for one who has travelled as much as I have, I remain enchanted with the Eiffel Tower. Seeing it the first time in high school felt surreal, and a similar feeling came over me again. We see it so often in movies, and postcards - was I really standing there right below the towering structure? In high school I went to the top and looked out over Paris with my jaw hanging open realizing I was actually IN Paris - a big thing for a 16 year old country gal from a rural town in Maine. I talked about the experience so much when I got home that my sister bought me a door sized poster with a night shot of the Tower.

This time I did not go to the top. The combo of grey skies, the long wait in the cold to get the elevator to the top, and that I was already on the verge of running late to meet a fellow Erasmus scholar for lunch - all caused me to skip the trip up and preserve it in my 16-year old memory. Instead I took several shots of the Tour Eiffel that i will share here.

These two are taken from near the Trocadero metro stop area. I like the view of these strong yet delicate and beautiful sculptures of women in the fore ground and the immense tower in the background.










































I think you will agree this is just a fantastic dusk shot of the Tower





















This is a shot of the tower from the top of the Basilica Sacra Coeur in Montmatre. Here you can see how the Tower really dominates the Paris skyline.
















This night shot was taken around 8pm. Apparently every hour, on the hour for about 10 minutes the normal illumination of the Tower is changes slightly with many small sparkling white lights, that is why it looks so different and bright here.