Friday, May 16, 2014

Tour de Eiffel


The Eiffel Tower is France's iconic symbol throughout the world. It was designed by Gustav Eiffel and built as the entrance arch to the 1889 World's Fair.



It was such a very cold day and the lines were very long to get tickets to the top, but we remained strong (though frozen) and finally were able to experience the Eiffel Tower from the inside. 








Don't panic - he isn't real. But I imagine there are real workers who do just that to keep the elevators running. 

The ride to the top is in two segments. In the first part you enter a very large closed in elevator which goes to the first and second viewing platforms. If you remember, Ken was anxious to do the bridge walk across the top of the Sydney Harbor Bridge. Well, inside this very protected elevator, before even reaching the first platform, Ken turns to me and says, "You may have been right about the bridge walk." 

Despite his qualms, we made the transfer to the second car and on up to the top. It was well worth the effort. Again the haze made photography a challenge, but the views were quite amazing.



A fact I was unaware of was that Gustav Eiffel built a small apartment at the top of the tower where he hosted prestigious guests. On 10 September 1889, Thomas Edison made a visit to this apartment.

After our descent, we took a short walk through the gardens to get an even better view.


Following our walk we made our way to a warm and cosy restaurant where we had tea and then our dinner while we waited for the sun to set.



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