A Tower with a View

Nationalism, population and French identity are all shown through the breath taking Eiffel Tower. When we walked off our “hop-on, hop-off” tour bus and I couldn’t believe I was standing in front of the Eiffel Tower in Paris, France. Even a couple days after the fact, I still can’t believe I was there. The tower stands at 986 feet tall and has been in the middle of the city of Paris since 1889 when Gustave Eiffel was chosen for his design to be built (more information on the towers history can be found on the link at the bottom of the page). Of course I took numerous pictures because I didn’t want to forget a moment of this experience. I was trying so hard to pay attention to what my friends were talking about while we walked around the magnificent structure, but I couldn’t tear my eyes off of it.

The feeling of being by something that has stood for over a century and has brought people from all over the world to this one spot was indescribable. The building itself is made up of millions of iron rods and the color of it is almost like a burgundy brown.

The group and I walked around taking in all of the people and the park that surrounded the tower. We didn’t know when we would ever be back to Paris, so we decided we had to go to the top. The line at the Nord (north) pillar to take an elevator to the top was really long so we wandered to another pillar with a shorter line. At first I was excited that this line was shorter, but there had to be a catch...stairs. We were going to have to climb 650+ stairs to get to the first level. I was ready to take on the challenge of getting to the top. It was definitely tiring, but it was all worth it in the end. Once we got to the first level I was eager to see the view. The level had a restaurant, café, and the history of the first level of the tower. I was surprised how much was up there. It was so interesting and confusing at the same time to comprehend how the whole tower was built in 2 years. The view of the park surrounding the tower was my favorite. You looked down to see people scattered about and all the green was so refreshing to see. Seeing the city from above was surreal. Once we walked around the entire first level, I was interested in how we were going to get back down? I wouldn’t have minded walking, but there was a yellow elevator car to take us back down. One thing I noticed before entering the car was that there was a sign warning tourists about the pick pocketing that occurs in them. I was a little worried, but when my friends surrounded me in the car, a sigh of relief calmed me down. We made it down safely and I felt very accomplished.

It is hard to believe that something like the Eiffel Tower, such a huge tourist attraction to people all over the world, stands in the middle of such a huge city. Honestly, noticing geography while I was there was not hard. The place where the Eiffel Tower is placed upon, The Champ de Mars, is a public sphere surrounded by the busy city of Paris (history and more information on the park is on a link listed below). It’s nice to know that some nature areas are still kept in tact even though the population of Paris is growing immensely every day and building space is limited. Speaking of population, I noticed that the tower brings so many different people together in one place trying to take in this beautiful structure and enjoy it’s surroundings. When someone says, “I went to the Eiffel Tower”, you know exactly what they’re talking about and I think that is something the French take pride in. While we sat in the Champ de Mars Park that day, I noticed tourists, but to my surprise I also noticed people…French people. The tower is not only a tourist attraction but also a place where the people of Paris can come to relax and enjoy each other’s company. The building is definitely a tower with a view.

Map of Paris-Eiffel Tower

http://parisbytrain.com/files/2008/06/metro-station-map-eiffel-tower.gifEiffel Tower history

History of The Eiffel Tower

http://weuropeanhistory.suite101.com/article.cfm/the_eiffel_tower

Marc de Champ Park history

http://www.paris-walking-tours.com/gardenofchampdemars.html