Arc de l'Elephant?

Finally today is the day that we are off to the
Arc de Triumph. We have waited for it to cool down and let some of the tourist traffic die away. The latter will never happen but today was a nice cool day for a walk along the Champs -Elysee and a visit to the Arc. A subway ride puts you right across the street from the Arc and then they have built a pedestrian tunnel to walk under the streets to the center. The Arc sits in the middle of a 12-way round-about! The designer of this "star" never knew about cars. This round-about has different traffic rules than all the others in Paris. The rule is--incoming traffic from the 12 streets have the right-of-way. People going around the round-about stop to allow others to enter. It seems to work--but it's pretty crazy. We read that insurance companies don't even try to figure out who is at fault in this round-about--each must pay 50%!

We emerge from the tunnel at the base of the Arc and decided that we have hiked up every other tall building, why not this one too! We pay an entrance fee and start the hike to the top. There are spiral staircases going up two of the corners and
elevators in the other two corners. The elevators are reserved for the handicapped only. It is a steep 300 steps to the top! There are a couple of chambers inside of the Arc, but we climb all the way to the top. Once we got to the top of course it is all worth it! The view is incredible, just a little hazy. It's always fun when you get up high and start identifying all of the points of interest you know--it's kind of a little game. There is an alignment of the monuments and a lot of history in one
straight line. If you start at the Louvre (the old regime and former palace), then let your eye go to the Obelisk and Place de la Concorde (which symbolizes the people's revolution and the beheading of thousands of people including the King and Queen), keep your eye moving down the Champs-Elysees and then through the Arc de Triomphe (victorious armies marching under the arch) and finally this historic line continues out the other side all the way to the newest business center and aligns with the new Arc (which shows the future in large corporations and businesses).

Of course, the Arc is a memorial to all of the French Military leaders and their victories (triumphs!) It is covered with their names and their campaigns. Napoleon Bonaparte ordered it built in 1809 to honor his soldiers who scored a mighty victory at the Battle of Austerlitz. Unfortunately in the next few years the people lost faith in Napoleon, he was exiled and all building on the Arc came to a halt. Finally in 1840 it was finished but Napoleon never saw his Triumphic Arch. Nineteen years after Napolean's death his remains were returned to Paris and he was wheeled under the Arc.

This historic Arc that has seen so much history; a parade gateway for triumphant armies, a place to hang the swastika from 1940-1944, in 1944 a proud Charles de Gaulle brought allied troops under this arch as they celebrated liberation. But you might not know that on this very spot a HUGE GOLDEN ELEPHANT was proposed. The architect could foresee this very large elephant, with restaurants, and a hotel for visiting dignitaries. Luckily it was voted down or we really would have had the Arc de l'Elephant!

We continued walking down the Champs-Elysees. Yes, it is nice and I could certainly imagine the rich and famous walking, or strolling, or driving their carriages down this prestigious street. It is lovely with trees that were planted by Napoleon III to bring more green to the area. Our walk finished at Place de la Concorde, the center of all the beheadings during the Reign of Terror. Thankfully the guillotine was replaced by this beautiful 3,300 year old obelisk brought to Paris by Charles X in 1830(to honor his beheaded brother Louis XVI) from Egypt. Imagine if you can the work involved to get this 220 ton, 72 foot granite piece from Egypt to Paris; it was pulled down from Ramses II temple, packed in wood, loaded on a boat, floated down the Nile, sailed across the Mediterranean, along the Atlantic and up the Seine and re-erected in 1836. I guess those 2800 who lost their lives during the Revolution, at this very square, deserve at least this much.

We finished our day with a visit to the newly reopened L'Orangerie, a beautiful museum that houses Monet's HUGE wall-size water lilies, Renoir, Picasso and others. Another lovely day in Paris..........

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