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We arranged our trip
to Paris to take advantage of the sleeper car so that the kids would be
rested
when we arrived. This also avoids one night of lodging for each
leg of the trip and leaves the daytime free for visiting.
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After a ten-hour train
ride while we slept (sort of) we arrived in the early mourning.
We had a few
hours to kill before we could check in to our accommodations so we
used the time to see the Zoo (with our luggage). In France
they let you feed the animals.
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Maïté
reviewing her
"Guide Vert" (a guide book for Tourist's who are still green). We
opted to rent a small apartment rather than a hotel. It turned
out to be a gem that had been recently remodeled from what must have
once been a cheap part of town close in to Paris. It was tiny but
laid out by parents so the kids had their own room and the rest of the
apartment was like an efficiency. A minimal kitchen, and the
French "Traiteurs" (a store that offers pre-prepared gourmet food that
you just warm up), allowed us to eat most of our meals at home without
having to waste a lot of time cooking. There really isn't a
specific "Parisian" cuisine. The Parisian's mostly favor ethnic
food from the many immigrants and the French cuisine from the
hinterland.
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Aidan took exactly
three minutes to discover the computer and check to see if it had any
games or internet service. As it turned out, they had a new Dell,
a wifi (most likely used by the whole neighborhood) but no regular
phone line. Instead they had a voice-over-IP set up and
instructions in two languages of how to use it to call anywhere in the
world. Note the TV has been pushed up to the top shelf.
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The first day was to be
dedicated to the family and a tour of the most well known
monuments. Here is the Notre Dame.
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We bought tickets for
one of the tourist boats that travel the Seine. We chose one
that was covered because the weather looked suspicious.
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About to pass under the Pont Alexander III with our
destination, the Tour Eiffel, in the distance.
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The bridges are as
decorated underneath as they are on top.
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Approaching the tower
from the water allows it to slowly grow in view as you cross the city.
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It is hard to
recognize how big the tower is because it is so familiar but standing
underneath and looking at the clear span compared to even modern
buildings is impressive. It must have been shocking in 1889. |
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A lot of Paris
was built just as iron work was becoming popular.
The Eiffel tower showed off the strength of this new material despite
being required to carry the payload of an older fondness for
decoration. It was built for the Exposition Universelle (1889
World's Fair) and remained
the worlds tallest structure for 40 years. The competition
continues
to this day.
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Just
below the first viewing platform are the names of 72 scientists
and engineers that Eiffel chose to honor. Most are French and
about a
quarter are familiar names to my studies in engineering. See (
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_72_names_on_the_Eiffel_Tower ) for a list
with links to each. I suspect that there was more than a little
politics associated with his choices. The names were painted over
at
the beginning of the century and only repainted in the late
1980s.
The
whole tower was almost torn down in the early 1900s because many
thought it to be ugly. A radio antenna mounted on top saved
it. Now it is the most visited single monument
in the world (5.5 million visitors a year) and a symbol of both Paris
and France.
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We spent the rest of
the day wandering around town and barely caught the last "Batobus" back
to 5th district where we were staying.
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