As you may have noticed, I’ve been walking quite a bit and on the November 1 holiday for All Saint’s Day I decided to take a holiday myself and veg out a bit. I spent the morning organizing my days that I’ll be spending with my friend, Ann, who’s coming from England Thursday the 4 th for a few days here.
Christiane also had lots of walking on her tour so we rested most of the morning and part of the afternoon. She made a delicious quiche with roasted vegetables, so we were vegging out literally as well as figuratively.
In the late afternoon I decided to take the #42 bus to the Eiffel Tower. It stops just a few blocks from the apartment. It was sunny in the morning but the skies clouded up as I waited in the soft rain. It’s much easier on the old body to take the bus, avoid the stairs of the metro, and watch the world go by.
Fortunately the bus wasn’t crowded.
i got off at the quai and walked to the tower. The rain had stopped but it was still messy.
Built for the Universal Exposition of 1889, the tower was built to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the republic and was meant to be temporary. As it turned out, its height lead to the discovery that it could be used as a radio antenna and so it stayed, in spite of the protests of leading citizens, including the writer Guy de Maupassant, who considered it a public eyesore. Monsieur Eiffel even had an apartment built on the tower so he could supervise its construction.
I made my way back and only waited a few minutes for the bus to arrive. The bus stop has the number of minutes the passenger must wait, which is very helpful. The bus stops are also sheltered from the rain.
I managed to get some cool shots coming back , with the rain on the window offering an interesting dimension to the image.
When I got off, I decided to check out the view from the Printemps department store. See the people on the top?
So up I went to the 7th floor terrace, just as the sun was about to set, at 5:15 pm.
Now it’s up to the top floor for more shots and another panoramic view.
I had to stop for a little treat on my way home, of course: crème brûlée from the corner café.
We watched Death in Venice before going to bed. It’s been remastered to recapture its true beauty. What a gorgeous film.
There were many beautiful sights today. I only logged in 2.1 miles but I managed to get some nice images. You can see why Paris is called the City of Light.
My next post will take you further afield, with more walking. I get to the Left Bank!