I am not sure it is possible to take an original and creative image of the Eiffel Tower in Paris. So many millions have viewed it and photographed it already. So, here you'll find the usual views - the only difference is that they are mine - I stood there and enjoyed this icon of modern civilization. And I will tell you this, the pictures do not do it justice. Not mine, not anyone's. The magnificence of it's stature and presence made me giddy with delight standing here and beholding this monument. It was worth being outside wandering around for nine hours (including lunch) in the cold and wind, watching the light shift and change, the sun set, and the tower's own lights turned on.
But I'm getting ahead of myself. Here is the first view I had when exiting the tunnels of Paris' Metro subway system at the Trocadero stop. It almost takes your breath away and stopped me in my tracks by the sheer grandeur and majesty. Construction began in 1887 and finished in 1889.
Moving closer, one encounters hundreds of tourists, many demonstrating the selfie craze.
All ages, genders, sizes, cultures, races - here to enjoy.
Selfie sticks were popular, too.
I'm not sure if the man on the left was part of the group or not but, no one seemed to mind either taking pictures for each other or being part of random photographs by strangers.
Moving down the steps toward the base of the tower, serendipity struck.
A professional photographer was using the tower as the background for wedding pictures!
I couldn't resist taking a few pictures of them myself. This was one of those times I'd rather be lucky than good.
Moving closer, crossing the Seine River, the tower gets bigger and bigger. Just over 1,000 feet tall, it was built as part of the 1889 World's Fair.
A festive atmosphere pervades - older kids riding the carousel, exhausted younger kids asleep on their father's shoulders, souvenir sellers hawking their wares, the crepe stand doing a brisk business, and if modern cameras had shutters, the combined clicking sounds would be deafening.
It didn't really feel very crowded at all for such a famous tourist destination. Of course, it was a cold winter weekday in February - not exactly prime tourist season.
This was the line to buy tickets to ride up the elevator - we passed on the experience - you can't see much of the tower when you're in it.
Moseying to view the south and east sides provided better lighting on the actual tower based on the sun's arc in the sky.
The tower's presence is felt and seen widely, like in this motorcycle mirror reflection.
It's a great area for just walking around enjoying life and there were thousands doing so on this beautiful winter day.
I can't pass up a good reflecting puddle - muddy or not.
For this outing, we drove our car to the train station, rode a 40-minute train (on time, clean, quiet, efficient), transferred to the Metro (Paris' subway system), rode about five minutes, then popped out at the Trocadero Metro stop on the west side of the tower. A very low-stress way to get there.
To wrap-up this post, here's the black and white version of the first image at the beginning. I like them both and this one feels more like the 1889 time period when the tower premiered for the world.
By the way, my step counter for this day was 14,100 steps - I was ready to sit down!
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