Let's start with chatting to Tio Freddow round that fire way back last August.... "Oh, your holiday dates are the same as ours this year...? Interesting... And you said you guys were off to Peru... right? Hmmmm.... So your house will be empty? Good, good..... and Transavia you said was a cheap airline....? Ah.... Perfect."
In fact, it was nine years ago to the week that I last came to Paris and met Tio Freddow for the first time, with one child just over a year and toddling and the other six-months-plus snug in my belly*. Of course we're incredibly sad to be missing AunTia and family, but also incredibly happy to have free accommodation, new toys to play with, umbrellas, a winter hat and slippers to borrow (thanks!) and a first class itinerary all worked out for us :)
We arrived about midnight Sunday night, so yesterday consisted of buying pain au chocolat from the local patisserie, picking up other groceries, having a wee explore of the neighbourhood and shop for shoes (I mean why not), playing in the park, watching a movie, then heading to bed when tiredness hit. Cos today was gonna be a big yin.
First up, la Tour Eiffel.
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| View from Trocadero (just wish I still had photos of this exact view from when Toots was both 9 weeks and 13 months old!) |
Constructed from 1887-89 as the entrance to the 1990 World's Fair, the Eiffel Tower, named after the engineer Gustave Eiffel whose company designed and built the tower, was initially criticised by some of France's leading artists and intellectuals for its design. It is now of course a global cultural icon of France and one of the most recognisable structures in the world. In fact, the Eiffel Tower is the most-visited paid monument in the world; 6.91 million people ascended it in 2015. Apparently the view from the top extends 60 km: not that we'd planned to go all the way up anyway, but the rain today certainly didn't change our mind, but did make for no queues!
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| Starting the ascent... |
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| 669 steps later we're at the top! Well, our top. |
The tower is 324 meters (1,063 ft) tall, about the same height as an 81-storey building, and the tallest structure in Paris - though in fact this figure can vary as much as 15cm as the 7,000 tonne tower of iron expands in warm weather and contracts when it's cold. Its base is a square, measuring 125 meters (410 ft) on each side. During its construction the Eiffel Tower surpassed the Washington Monument to become the tallest man-made structure in the world, a title it held for 41 years until the Chrysler Building in New York City was finished in 1930. Due to the addition of a broadcasting aerial at the top of the tower in 1957, it is now taller than the Chrysler Building by 5.2 meters (17ft).
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| View back over to Trocadero |
Anyway, after that tremendous climb what else was there to do but grab a nutella crepe and enjoy tomorrow's sights today from the Seine.
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| Pont Alexandre III - built for the 1900 World Exposition and the only single-span steel arch across the Seine |
Then it was time again for some more steps, this time up the Arc de Triomphe.
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| Looking towards la Grande Arche de la Defense |
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| Looking down the Champs Elysee towards Place de la Concorde and the Louvre |
The arch was commissioned by Napoleon in 1806 after the victory at Austerlitz at the height of his fortunes. Laying the foundations alone took two years and, in 1810, when Napoleon entered Paris from the west with his bride Archduchess Marie-Louise of Austria, he had a wooden mock-up of the completed arch constructed. It was, however, still under construction when he met his Waterloo in 1815 and was only finally completed in 1836. On 15 December 1840 when he was brought back to France from Saint Helena, Napoleon's remains passed under the arch on their way to the Emperor's final resting place at the Invalides. Among the armies to march triumphantly through the arch and down the Champs Elysees were the Germans in 1871, the Allies in 1919, the Germans again in 1940 and the Allies in 1944. After the internment of the Unknown Soldier in 1920, however, all military parades (including the aforementioned post-1919) have avoided marching through the actual arch. The route taken is up to the arch and then around its side, out of respect for the tomb and its symbolism. Both Hitler in 1940 and de Gaulle in 1944 observed this custom.
And once we'd passed under the arch too, it was time to head back home for a well earned rest. Cos there's more steps again tomorrow [shhh don't tell the kids]!
* Previous to having Tiger I think I'd been here at least every other year, if not sometimes every year, for at least a decade. In comparison I think the Don has been here at least seven or eight times since 2006, but never before then. Even Toots and Tiger have been here more recently that I - it's about time I'm back!
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