Our Last Stop...Paris!

Our last stop this trip is Paris. Our flight leaves at 1:30pm from Paris on August 19th. It's been a good run but now we have to get back home and face the bills. Here are some pictures from the things we tried to catch up on that we didn't get a chance to see the first time around. This time we did actually climb to the top of the Eiffel Tower, which was wicked packed and took forever to get to. Sunset may not be the best time to visit. We almost missed our train again but thanks to Josh's sprinting skills we ran to catch the train. We had like three transfers, talk about STRESS!!! Here, I'll let the pictures tell this story.

(This was towards the end of the walking tour that we had taken that day. I'm standing at the end of the Tuileries Gardens, near the Champs-Elysees.

(This is the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier from WWI, this is the eternal flame that never goes out. Well ok, so it's been blown out twice since it's erection. Once I think was a prank, then another time some tourists decided to cook hot dogs over the flames. Each person was deported back to their home country never able to return to France.)
Napoleonic Arc de Triomph

(The Arc de Triomph is accompanied by two other Arc's in paris both equal distances away. The Arc de Triomph is the second largest arc in Europe.)

(It is estimated that every 1/2 hour that is a car accident in the round about that circles this monument.)
( This is right before we climbed the tower. We looked at the long lines and asked ourselves "Is it worth it?" We decided yes.)

(This picture was taken directly at the bottom of the tower while waiting in line. There are three areas to buy tickets to go to the top.)

(The city from the top of the Eiffel Tower at night.)

(Every seven years the Eiffel Tower is painted, it is currently being painted at the present time. Paris hired a team of Italian painters to hand paint the entire tower. The color changes from time to time but is currently a mixture of brownish grey. Three separate colors of paint are used on the tower, with the darkest on the bottom and the lightest at the top.)
( The G. Eiffel intended for the Eiffel Tower to be built in Barcelona but Barcelona declined. Many Parisians called the Eiffel Tower an eyesore. It was erected in the 1800's for the World Fair and was only intended to be in Paris for 20years. One man tried to sell the Eiffel Tower for scrap metal every few years and a few rich people actually paid to take down the tower. When they realized it was a scam they didn't tell anyone they just took the loss. The scam went on for about ten years before this con was caught.)

(At the very top of the Eiffel Tower, don't let this fool you there were about a hundred people surrounding us. This is also right after I used the bathroom at the top, the tower sways so much that it felt like I was on a boat.)

(Eiffel Tower, at the top of every hour there is a light show that you can watch. )

(Eiffel Tower at night right as we are about to leave for the train, Josh is telling me to hurry cause it's late)