Paris 2012: Part One The Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triomph, Paris Opera

Well, I went to Paris. It was a one day, roughly 8-9 hour, tour period arranged through American Airlines Vacations/Evan Evans Tours. I had arranged my previous trip to Stonehenge and Oxford through them as well. Neither of my trips were all what I thought they could have been... but hey, I went to Paris. :) 

I have an obnoxious amount of pictures that I took on this trip. One because Paris is a beautiful city, and two, I was just amazed by the architecture  and how things are laid out.  The French People however... not so impressed. I can't say they were all bad but I'm glad that I didn't have to interact with them more than I did. One thing I will say about the tour is that we had the sweetest tour guide. She was from Germany and spoke 6 languages and did her best to help us overcome the trials of travel in Paris. I also met a really cool couple from Chicago who were with me on the tour. We paled around the whole day. Good times. On to the pictures...

This is the Gare du Nord. (info) It's one of the main train stations in Paris, there are 4 I think??? Anywho, it's the hub for most all trains going to the UK and Northern Europe. 

These are just some random shots from around the city. One thing you will notice about Paris is the uniform height and design of most of the buildings. That is because of Mr. Haussmann. (info) He basically changed the whole dynamic of the city and transformed it from medieval to "modern". Again, I liked the architecture so I took millions of pictures... haha.

This is the Paris Opera. (info) It's a pretty spectacular building and has been a venue for a number of different arts throughout the centuries.

 There are many obelisk(s) all over Paris as is in many European cites. Here are 2 of some of the more important ones. The "Victory" Column (info).

Then there's the Obélisque de Luxor (info). If you ever go to Paris and are asked what the oldest structure/monument is there, this is. ...don't be fooled. ;)

More random shots from around the city of things I have no clue. :) 

 

 

Ah... the Eiffel Tower (info). I took so many pictures of it and I liked them all so I'm just going to post them all. hahaha. A random fact is that just before Hitler invaded Paris, the French forces cut the cables on the lifts to the top of the tower so the Germans couldn't enjoy the view of the city from the top.  Therefore it is said that Hitler conquered Paris but not the Eiffel Tower. 

 

I love this picture.

 Random Fact: The Eiffel Tower is painted every nine years to prevent corrosion and decay.  It takes 60 tons of paint to complete the job. Also, it's three different colors with the darkest at the bottom and the brightest at the top.

 Me being a goober... lol... this is what you have to do when you travel alone... haha

The Arc de Triomphe (info)

 Close up of both sides... Most tours stop so you can get out and see it up close... not ours. haha I had to get this pictures basically hanging off the side of the tour bus... crazy American...

I'm going to end with the first million pictures here (yay)... but don't worry, I've got plenty more from Paris. Check back soon and thanks for viewing! :)