Day 19 - Sep 19, 2009 Last updated: 10/16/09 8:00pm PT
Day dix-neuf, Arles to Paris, Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triomphe, Champs Elysees.
We took the TGV from Arles to Paris. We were supposed to leave at 7:30am. The train was 1.5 hours late, so we left at 9:00am. I think every train we took in France had been late or cancelled. Arles is about 750 km (466 miles) from Paris and the train took less than 4 hours. That’s an average speed of about 187 km/h, or 116 mph.
Paris is nice (at least the small part we’ve seen) and has an easy to use subway. We were only here for a day and a half. The Eiffel Tower is a 10 minute or less walk from hotel. We also walked to the Arc de Triomphe and down the Champs Elysees.
Many pictures of the Eiffel Tower. Completed in 1889 it is 324 m (1,063 ft) tall. We did not go up. Yeah, I know. We went all the way to Paris and didn’t go up? I lived in Chicago for 30-something years and never went to the top of the Willis (nee Sears) Tower either. Besides, the lines were long and I don’t like lines.
I always thought it was black, but it’s bronze in color.
Can you see all those little people on the middle level? The base/foot of the tower is where the elevator is located.
Standing under the Eiffel Tower.
Me standing next to one small beam that holds this thing up.
Arc de Triomphe, started in 1806, but not finished until 1836.
Champs Elysees (where you can buy a new Mercedes to go with your new Cartier diamonds) is a wide street with high end retail and lots of people. It was weird seeing a car dealership in this setting.
The fall leaves are starting to fall along the River Seine.
