Ken Munsie: 33. Towering it over Paris

My Paris adventure of course has to start with that great Parisian landmark - the Eiffel Tower.

Taking the Metro – two trains from home – into Paris Central - I arrive at the foot of that great monument to 19^th century engineering – erected in 1889. I am gob-smacked as I walk out of the underground, turn the corner and there it is !!! … huge and bronze !!! … yes I had always imagined that it would be steel grey – but it is coloured a sexy bronze …

The day started out sunny and bright - but by the time I got to the Tower, the sky turned grey and threatening - not the best conditions for photographs ...

Standing over 300m tall ( about the same height as an 80 storey building ) and situated at the end of parc du Champs de Mars ( a beautiful green park ) it looms as the tallest structure in Paris. Named after the bloke whose company designed and built it, the Tower is a fascinating structure of latticed steel.

The queue to take the elevator to the top was huge so I opted to walk the more than 600 steps up to the second level – which is just under half way - hoping all the while that my heart would bear the strain of increased pumping. It did and I got there along with several dozen other sight-seers – all of us puffing and panting in a myriad of different languages – but all very excited to walk out onto the observation decks ...

To say the views from half way up are spectacular is an understatement – they are ( to use my fav expression …) extraordinary … there is Paris spread out below – what more can I say … but just beautiful.

parc du Champs de Mars

Palais de Chailot across the seine

Looking down stream ...

Thankfully there is a fast food outlet on that level so I stoked the furnace with caffeine, carbs and protein to give me strength to then descend all those steps back down !!! … Suddenly the temperature dropped markedly and the rain came down, but lasting only a short time while I finished my lunch – then down I went.