Tour Eiffel & "Eiffel Tower Guys"

Our very last day in Paris was appropriately occupied by a trip to visit the quintessential symbol of Paris:   The Eiffel Tower.  Amazingly enough, we arrived on site just before it opened at 9 am.  We bought the long-anticipated Eiffel Tower keychains for the kids and their friends while waiting in the relatively short line.  There were very many "Eiffel Tower Guys" selling these little trinkets.  Didn't seem like many of them were selling very many, and at 4 or 5 for one Euro, hard to imagine how anyone could make a living selling these.  More about these guys later on.

The Tour Eiffel was completed in 1889 for the Exposition Universelle and was originally intended to stand for 20 years only.  Until 1930 it was the world's tallest building.  It currently stands at 1063 feet tall, or about the height of an 81-story building.  Needless to say, it garners a lot of attention. 

This is a view looking up from the elevator car through the ceiling.  It seems to follow an impossibly steep course then angles straight upward after a short pause.  This allows the elevators to travel up through the feet of the tower.  Very popular amongst our crew.

A look straight up from the first viewing platform.  

Some happy voyeurs.

Sullivan refused to leave this viewpoint because he kept wanting to watch more trains go across the bridge.  There was also a hot air balloon exposition with one balloon that kept going up and down.

The trip up, looking around at the landmarks we'd visited seemed a fitting end to our most excellent two weeks here.  We are feeling sad to leave this energetic and beautiful city but everyone is eager to head south to Barcelona in the morning.

The Eiffel Tower Guys (as named by Sullivan).  We'd seen through the city, and especially today, many many men selling trinket Eiffel Towers, either on keychains or larger models.  Also, many guys selling cheap wooden trains made out of letters of kids' names.  Most seem to be African immigrants with some men appearing Middle Eastern.  As we were walking across the bridge to check out a fountain and to look at the tower from across the river, we saw a couple of these guys pick up all their goods and sprint away quickly.  Then we saw the police van come.  Walked a bit more and saw 20 or so Eiffel Tower Guys sprinting across this bridge above.  Police out of the van, chasing again.  I then saw something I'd never seen in the states.  A police car pulled up nearby, police got out of the car and five or six of the guys ran across a busy street and just waited, ready to run.  The cops didn't pursue (or shoot, thankfully).  It was like a game of cat and mouse.   Seems to me that someone would be more likely to get shot doing this at home. 

Back across the river to the park near the tower for a picnic, some fighting over the single piece of playground equipment that would please both Henry and Sullivan and a couple more geocaches.  Again witnessed a few episodes of police vs. Eiffel Tower Guy cat and mouse chase through the gardens.  I was approached by one of the guys again and politely refused to buy any more, telling him we already had ten (the truth).  I asked him why the police didn't want them there.  He explained to me that there were a lot of them in the area near the Eiffel Tower but that they had no choice, as they have to eat.  How can you argue with that?

Until tomorrow,

Nik