Here I am attempting to scale the Eiffel Tower. Ignore Mr. HH's hand. He's trying to hold me back. Trust me on this.
I really wanted to feed the pigeons like Indy, but MIHH was afraid one would try to carry me off. Like I couldn't take a pigeon. I've fought Thugees. Pigeons. Pffffttt!
The Eiffel Tower, which is the tallest building in Paris is the single most visited paid monument in the world; millions of people ascend it every year. Named after its designer, engineer Gustave Eiffel, the tower was built as the entrance arch for the 1889 World's Fair. The tower was met with much criticism from the public when it was built, with many calling it an eyesore. Newspapers of the day were filled with angry letters from the arts community of Paris. Eiffel had a permit for the tower to stand for 20 years, meaning it would have had to be dismantled in 1909, when its ownership would revert to the City of Paris. The City had planned to tear it down (part of the original contest rules for designing a tower was that it could be easily demolished) but as the tower proved valuable for communication purposes, it was allowed to remain after the expiration of the permit. The military used it to dispatch Parisian taxis to the front line during the First Battle of the Marne , and it therefore became a victory statue of that battle allowing it to stand. Can you imagine Paris without the Eiffel Tower?
After the Eiffel Tower we headed over to the Musée de l'Armée at Les Invalides. Les Invalides was started in 1670 by Louis XIV as a hospital for aging, wounded and unwell soldiers. The US could take a leaf from his book on this. Many military leaders, including most famously Napoleon Bonaparte (and a whole host of his relatives) are entombed in the chapel. In 1871, the museum, first called the Musée de l'Artillerie was formed. A Musée historique de l'Armée (Historical Museum of the Army) was created in 1896. It merged in 1905 with the Musée de l'Artillerie creating the current Museum. Today, it holds 500,000 artifacts, including weapons, armour, artillery, uniforms, emblems and paintings, exhibited in an area of 12,000 m². The permanent collections are organized into "historical collections", representing a chronological tour from ancient times through the end of WWII. Very interesting.
Hey look! It's a Belgian uniform, just like the one I wore in WWI, when I joined the Belgian Army.
Look, here I am with my good friend Remi in uniform. Looks just like the one in the case. Well, if you could see under the coat that is. Man, my hair was out of control. Check out those features though. Good looking kid. Stupid, but good looking.
HEY! See that guy? He owes me money.
Nazis. I hate those guys.
Especially this one.
Outside Les Invalides.
There's little Napoleon. There are 6 coffins inside the porphyre sarcophogus. The sarcophagus was put up on a green granite pedestal and contains a nest of six coffins: one made of soft iron, another of mahogany, two others of lead, one of ebony and finally the last one of oak. Napoleon is dressed in his Colonel's uniform (of the cavalry of the Guard) which bears his sash of the Légion d'Honneur. His hat rests on his legs.
Someone built a very scary snow bunny outside, but I had no fear. Thugees, giant ants and snakes. That's all I'm saying.
I hope you enjoyed our little trip and maybe learned a few things.
