Wednesday looked promising with a few bursts of sunshine and blue sky amidst skidding low cloud. So we went to the Tour Eiffel. By the time we got there it was overcast and the wind chill factor made queueing for an hour or more, an unpleasant option.
In 2011, we also aborted a trip to the top of the Tour because the queues were impossible. The lifts on one leg of the tower only service the Jules Verne restaurant on the first level. The lifts on one of the three remaining legs of the tower are undergoing serious renovation. So that leaves two sets of lifts only. Those three vertical towers you can see in the photo are temporary lifts, used to bring people down rather than moving people in both directions. It is still possible to walk up the stairs, of course and that queue was quite short, but while Paul was confident, I knew I couldn't manage thousands of steps.
So we wrapped our scarves extra tight against the wind and turned tail.
In 2011, we also aborted a trip to the top of the Tour because the queues were impossible. The lifts on one leg of the tower only service the Jules Verne restaurant on the first level. The lifts on one of the three remaining legs of the tower are undergoing serious renovation. So that leaves two sets of lifts only. Those three vertical towers you can see in the photo are temporary lifts, used to bring people down rather than moving people in both directions. It is still possible to walk up the stairs, of course and that queue was quite short, but while Paul was confident, I knew I couldn't manage thousands of steps.
So we wrapped our scarves extra tight against the wind and turned tail.
It is such an iconic structure that you could keep photographing it forever.
Paul has really taken to his iPhone; not only does it takes photos but it tells you the time and the temperature and keeps your shopping list. Oh, and you can call people too. But who has time for that; too busy checking the weather.
The closest building to the Tour Eiffel that we hadn't visited before was Le Palais Du Tokyo. It is the modern art museum for the city of Paris.
Turning around from the entry steps of the Palais du Tokyo, the Tour emerges from the trees.
The temporary exhibition at this modern art venue was by the American artist Keith Haring, a contemporary and close friend of Andy Warhol.
That's Keith. The short documentary movie we watched about him was more interesting than the exhibition itself, but then, neither of us is a fan of modern art.
Waiting for the bus, there were whitecaps on the river, the sky looked heavy and threatening and it was 6°C.
I wondered what these people were doing but didn't have time to explore too much as the bus was approaching.
Discovered later that this was the tunnel where the Pricess of Wales was killed. The gold monument is not a monument to her, but was already in this spot. However, as it is a replica of the flame on the statue of liberty, it has become a pseudo Diana memorial. If you look at photos of it on the internet, it is regularly swamped with flowers and candles. Only a few the day we saw it, but some serious pilgrims were about.
Oh, it is so cold!
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