This past Monday, I visited the Arc de Triomphe with my friend Libbie. We went because we needed something to do that didn’t cost money and the free museums around the city are largely closed on Mondays. It’s a site that I felt like I should go to while I’m here, but I didn’t feel too strongly about.
But then I got there, and I realized that it’s actually really impressive. There’s a sturdiness to it that isn’t conveyed in photographs. I wasn’t about to pay money to go underneath it, but we did take the time to walk around the entire thing.
Standing in the rain by the Arc de Triomphe
My response to Arc de Triomphe reminded me of my response to the Mona Lisa which I wrote about in my post on the Louvre. To a lesser extent, it also reminded me of my response to the Eiffel Tower when we visited earlier in the month.
The Eiffel Tower is objectively cool, so I was really excited to see it. But when I saw it in person, I was able to appreciate the engineering of it in a way I couldn’t previously. Almost all of the steel is structural and the lifts had to be specifically designed for it. It’s also just a lot bigger than I realized.
One of the legs of the Eiffel Tower.
I don’t have much time left in my trip, but I’m really glad that I’ve been able to see so much while I’m here.
Laurie