Day 4, Paris France

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Jacinda & Michael's Wedding Anniversary!

We wake up fairly early and are eager to start exploring Paris. We have a light breakfast and do some washing before heading out. The weather is quite mild, warmer than we expected. We soon realise how close we are to the Eiffel Tower- we can see it from the bedroom and as we walk to the end of the block and turn right, and there it is in all it's glory just a couple of blocks away towering over the the River Seine. We take some photos and marvel at how magnificent the structure is and many hours of design and building that must have gone into making this spectacular piece of architecture.

We walk along the river Siene and are in awe of the maginificent buildings we see with intiricate life size sculptures and artwork adorning them. The scenery is beautiful everywhere we look.- avenues of trees and beautifully buildings. We stop at the Eiffel Tower along the way and are amazed at the number of peole and the carnival atmosphere around the tower. The tower is spectacular! What an architectural feat!

"The structure was built between 1887 and 1889 as the entrance arch for the Exposition Universelle, a World's Fair marking the centennial celebration of the French Revolution. Three hundred workers joined together 18,038 pieces of puddled iron (a very pure form of structural iron), using two and a half million rivets, in a structural design by Maurice Koechlin. Eiffel was assisted in the design by engineers Émile Nouguier and Maurice Koechlin and architect Stephen Sauvestre. The risk of accident was great as, unlike modern skyscrapers, the tower is an open frame without any intermediate floors except the two platforms. However, because Eiffel took safety precautions, including the use of movable stagings, guard-rails and screens, only one man died. The tower was inaugurated on 31 March 1889, and opened on 6 May.

Eiffel had a permit for the tower to stand for 20 years; it was to be dismantled in 1909, when its ownership would revert to the City of Paris. The City had planned to tear it down (part of the original contest rules for designing a tower was that it could be easily demolished) but as the tower proved valuable for communication purposes, it was allowed to remain after the expiry of the permit. The military used it to dispatch Parisian taxis to the front line during the First Battle of the Marne.

The pig iron structure of the Eiffel Tower weighs 7,300 tonnes while the entire structure, including non-metal components, is approximately 10,000 tonnes. Depending on the ambient temperature, the top of the tower may shift away from the sun by up to 18 cm (7.1 in) because of thermal expansion of the metal on the side facing the sun. Maintenance of the tower includes applying 50 to 60 tonnes of paint every seven years to protect it from rust.

The tower stands 324 metres (1,063 ft) tall, about the same height as an 81-storey building.
The tower has three levels for visitors. Tickets can be purchased to ascend, by stairs or lift, to the first and second levels. The walk to the first level is over 300 steps, as is the walk from the first to the second level. The third and highest level is accessible only by elevator. Both the first and second levels feature restaurants."

We stop at a small cafe for lunch then head back to our apartment so Jacinda & Michael can can ready for their river cruise and dinner in the Eiffel Tower restaurant that I have orgnaised for them for their 3rd weddig anniversary.

While Jacinda & Michael are on their cruise, we get tickets on a hop on hop off open bus tour and soon find out that is a very good way to orientate ourselves to the city, learn a little history about Paris and the famous sights we see. The tour costs about $35 AUD and is money well spent. The ticket lasts for 48 hours and we can get off at any stop and wander around . We are given headphones and can chose our own language. The night is a bit cooler than the day has been but is still quite mild. We have dinner at a little restaurant a couple of doors up from our apartment then head home and wait to see how Jacinda & Michael enjoyed their night. The sun doesn't set until about 9.30 pm so the view they will see from the tower should be spectacular.

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