thejayfather: laTour

there doesn't seem to be much more for me to say about la Tour Eiffel, but it is worth a quick daytime look. it's currently the tallest structure in Paris, and owing to the generally very low skyline, the tower is visible from almost anywhere in town. it is a striking view, but close-up views during the day reveal huge webs of ugly brownish-painted metal that are less than entirely romantic. one could almost understand the bitter controversy sparked by the tower's initial placement along the beautiful River Seine. it still makes for some good gratuitous over-photographed-monument holiday snaps though:

a view of the Eiffel Tower from one of the nearby neighborhoods, and below, another gratuitous view enhanced by the presence of Jill, myself and our bodyguard (cleverly disguised as a random tourist).

as i mentioned in theeveningtime post, the whole tower seems something of a cliché, though this may be understandable of the world's most visited monument. last year there were almost 7 million visitors, and we were happy to be two of the more than 200 million that have come to admire the engineering feat since it was erected in 1887. since we're on stats, the excellent Wikipedia article on la tour tells me that the building was the tallest in the world at that time, until it was surpassed by the Chrysler Building in New York in 1930 (it had earlier taken the title from the Washington monument). now it seems that the distinction changes hands (or more importantly, countries) every few years. a couple of years ago we visited the twin Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, which were the tallest structures until the Taipei 101 building took over in early 2005, while we were in Taiwan. Petronas is now reduced to being the tallest twin towers on earth, and soon the Taipei 101 will be dethroned by the Burj Dubai in the United Arab Emirates (which will soon thereafter lose its preeminence to the Al Burj, also in Dubai. this one looks like it may hang on for a while, being more than twice as tall as the 101!). in any case, the Eiffel Tower is about 81 stories tall, which is almost the level at which Taipei 101's "tuned mass damper" sits, to help minimize the building's vibrations during earthquakes and high winds. according to the Wiki article, the Eiffel Tower sways about 2-3 inches (5-8 cm) in the wind, and its top can flex away from the sun up to 7 inches (18 cm) due to the steel's thermal expansion on the heated side. not something most folks want to think about at the top.

the view to the south of the Eiffel Tower, showing the mighty Seine river in all its glory. this shot was taken from the second floor landing moments after sunset.

but enough tech talk; the views are what people go for. we like the views too, and have this habit of going up the tall structures we visit just before sundown so we can get the view in the daylight and then see all the lights come on. this strategy ended up working out as well in Paris as it has elsewhere, only here the lines were so long even on our weekday trip that we were almost too late to see the sunset. there are three levels, but at only €11,50 (about US$16) to get the top, one can hardly pass up the full ride. it's well worth it, and you get to stop and look around on the first and second floor landings (while you endure yet another wait for the next elevator), which is where all our best view shots came from. still, i have to say again that the best view may be of the tower itself, and then after dark, but i'll leave you to judge from Jill's photos. better yet, go there and have a look for yourself, it is worth it, despite the cliché.