La Tour Eiffel

Long before I ever visited Paris, I used to dream about it.  I was traveling in a nondescript manner in a nondescript place but the anticipation I felt was palpable.  Somehow I knew I was in France and on my way to Paris.  There would be obstacles and hills and things obstructing my view but I knew I was getting closer and closer to Paris and at any moment I would see the Eiffel Tower.  The Paris in my dreams didn't look at all like the Paris I've come to know, but the Eiffel Tower was a familiar icon, a beloved monument.   I knew what it looked like.  And when finally, in my dreams, I rounded that last corner and saw the Eiffel Tower for the first time (it was always the first time in my dreams, no matter how many times I dreamt it), I was awestruck and overcome by emotion.

I saw the Eiffel Tower with my own, wide-awake eyes for the first time in 1994.  Ron knew about my dreams, and although I had seen the tower from atop Butte Montmartre, he made sure I didn't see it again until we got close.  We walked from Montmartre to the Eiffel Tower, partly because we're just a little bit nutsy and partly because it was early June and it wouldn't be dark until about 10:00 pm and we wanted to see the monuments at night, all lit up.  We took a convoluted route to Boulevard Haussmann, stopped at the Arc de Triomphe until the lights came on, then continued on via Avenue Kleber.  At the Trocadero and the Palais de Chaillot, we made the left turn and there it was.  The Eiffel Tower.  For real.  Just like in my dreams, I was awestruck and overcome by emotion.  It was at that moment that I knew I was really in Paris.  I was really and truly in Paris, standing before the Eiffel Tower and it was marvelous, beautiful, breathtaking and more magnificent than I could ever have imagined or dreamt.   

I don't know where my love affair with Paris and the Eiffel Tower comes from.  But no matter how many times I've visited Paris, I am still awestruck and I get emotional standing near the Eiffel Tower.

I can't say why I put off going to visit the tower.  Perhaps I was distracted by the whole business of getting settled, or perhaps I didn't want to be distracted by the whole business of getting settled.  Whatever the reason, we finally set out for a visit to the Eiffel Tower on Sunday night.   We took the Metro to a station nearby then walked to the East end of Parc du Champs de Mars.  Once again we turned left and there it was:

 

Also at the East end of the park and in front of the Ecole Militaire, is the Monument to Peace.  There is a glass pavilion surrounded by 32 columns and the word peace is written on the pavilion and columns in 32 languages. 

The Monument to Peace

acepeacepeacepeacepeacepeacepeacepeacepeacepeacepeacepeacepeac

peace in the moonlight

columns of peace

Several of the glass panels on the pavilion have broken; but the panels have not been replaced.  I like the broken panels; there's some symbolism there - but also they make for some beautiful and interesting photographs.

Ron with spectacular specular highlights

La Tour Eiffel through shattered glass

Ecole Militaire through shattered glass

After hanging out at the Monument for Peace, we walked the length of the park and under the Eiffel Tower to the other side.

La Tour Eiffel Est

More Tour Eiffel

Still More Tour Eiffel

Even More Tour Eiffel

You guessed it - more Tour Eiffel

La Tour Eiffel Ouest

For Paris' Millennium Celebration, flashing lights and searchlights were installed on the tower, and fireworks were set off all over it.  Since then, the light show is a nightly event, every hour on the hour.  The searchlights on top of the tower make a beacon in the night sky, and the 20,000 flash bulbs make the illuminated tower look sparkly.

La Sparkly Tour Eiffel

After all these years, La Tour Eiffel still takes my breath away.  I will be back many more times before this trip is over.  It isn't easy to photograph La Tour Eiffel, and one of my many missions during my stay is to capture the perfect photograph of my favorite tower.