Few trips to Paris could be complete without swinging by the Arc de Triomphe. To say it is a crazy circus of activity would be understating things just a wee bit. The speeding blurs of cars ringed by the bustling blurs of pedestrians create a mesmerizing whirl. The Arc de Triomphe is almost like a giant hinge of some sort, upon which the city pivots and spins, both literally and figuratively. Such was its magnetism I made two pilgrimages to it, the first at night to make this image, afterward I strolled down the Champs-Élysées (one of the best streets in Paris to wander at night in my opinion).
I returned a day or two later to climb to the top of the arch. Of which I shall show you several images, but those will wait to start until tomorrow.
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There are 284 steps leading up a tight, spiraling staircase from the base of the Arc de Triomphe to its summit.
There is no elevator, and few places to rest. So you get a line of trudging, huffing people inching their way up the stairs.
I thought the climb was a blast and paused right at the very top of the stairs, leaned out over the guardrail and took this photo straight down with my Nikon.
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Roughly one eighth of the view an adventurous stair-climber is awarded with upon ascending the Arc de Triomphe. It was a perfectly cloudy and gloomy day over Paris. The wind was a bit nippy. It threatened rain, but never quite fulfilled that threat. The clouds pressed down over the city lending an incredible mood. This was a day that Paris felt like Paris, and I am not sure I can explain exactly what that means. This photo comes close, though even it falls a bit short. There is something timeless in the brooding nature of days like this.
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Same place (the top of the Arc de Triomphe) but looking off to the south and the hill of Montmartre, with Sacré-Cœur rising over the rest of Paris.
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The third of four in this small series of images made while circumnavigating the top of the Arc de Triomphe. I am not sure exactly what I can say about the magic of Paris, other than one can experience it in a number of different ways. You definitely feel it being down on those avenues and boulevards, walking from one interesting corner of the city to another. But you experience it in another way all together when you get up on top of the Arc de Triomphe, or the Eiffel Tower or Notre Dame, and get to see the heart of the city spread out around you. Then Paris becomes an ocean of history and mystery, and you are just standing at the edge of the shore listening to those waves lap at your feet, with all the promise that an ocean can carry.
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