Eiffel Tower and other Monuments

The Hotel in the early morning

Today I woke up really early and couldn't fall back asleep so I walked around some to get a feeling for the location of the hotel.  Breakfast at 7:30 was excellent, especially the bread rolls, and afterwards we walked around Paris.

One of many monuments in Paris

 We saw monuments while walking, the one above was the first one and was next to a bridge.  The fence around it had locks on it that symbolized couples' love and how it was forever.  After a walking tour we got on  tour bus to see more monuments and architecture.

The National Assembly, a major government center in Paris

This is the National Assembly, which helped to start the French Revolution by signing the Tennis Court Oath and making a French Constitution called The Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen.

An obelisk with hieroglyphs transported from Egypt

Next up on the tour was this obelisk that looked really out of place in Paris.

Arc de Triumph

I also got to see the Arc de Triumph, a monument dedicated to the military victories of France.  Victorious armies would march underneath the Arch in a big military parade.  It's building began with Napoleon laying the first stone on its foundation, and was originally built to celebrate the French victory at Austerlitz.  It is so big that planes used to fly under it in shows.

The Eiffel Tower

While on the bus we saw the Eiffel Tower which was made by Gustave Eiffel during the 1989 world fair.  It was made to be the tallest structure in the world and is now a famous landmark and symbol of France.  though when it was built artist in France protested against it for being ugly.  I got to go to the top of the tower and see Paris from one of the tallest buildings in the world.

A photo from the top of the Eiffel Tower

Another one

It was really high

After the Eiffel tower we visited Napoleon's tomb, it was housed in St. Jerome's Chapel which was a beautiful church with many monuments.  His Tomb was surrounded by the names of his victories and marble statues.

Napoleon's Tomb in St Jerome's Chapel

So far I have seen a lot in Paris and it is still the beginning of the class.  I can't wit to see more of the city.