Tuesday, 29 October 2013

VISIT TO EUROPE - FRANCE - PARIS - EIFFEL & NOTREDAME





CHAPPIDI ABHIRATH REDDY
C/O COL GKS REDDY


Secunderabad - 500015





Eiffel Tower


          The Eiffel Tower (French: La Tour Eiffel, [tuʁ ɛfɛl]) is an iron lattice tower located on the Champ de Mars in Paris, named after the engineerGustave Eiffel, whose company designed and built the tower. Erected in 1889 as the entrance arch to the 1889 World's Fair, it has become both a global cultural icon of France and one of the most recognizable structures in the world. The tower is the tallest structure in Paris[10] and the most-visited paid monument in the world; 7.1 million people ascended it in 2011. The tower received its 250 millionth visitor in 2010.



          The tower stands 324 metres (1,063 ft) tall, about the same height as an 81-floor building. During its construction, the Eiffel Tower surpassed theWashington Monument to assume the title of the tallest man-made structure in the world, a title it held for 41 years, until the Chrysler Building inNew York City was built in 1930. Because of the addition of the antenna atop the Eiffel Tower in 1957, it is now taller than the Chrysler Building by 17 feet (5.2 m). Not including broadcast antennas, it is the second-tallest structure in France, after the Millau Viaduct.



          The tower has three levels for visitors. The third level observatory's upper platform is at 279.11 m (915.7 ft) the highest accessible to the public in the European Union. Tickets can be purchased to ascend, by stairs or lift (elevator), to the first and second levels. The walk from ground level to the first level is over 300 steps, as is the walk from the first to the second level. Although there are stairs to the third and highest level, these are usually closed to the public and it is usually accessible only by lift. The first and second levels have restaurants.


          The tower has become the most prominent symbol of both Paris and France, often in the establishing shot of films set in the city.




The Visit to the Tower



          Tickets were booked in advance for visit to Eiffel Tower on 09 Sep 2013. Unfortunately, the weather was totally packed up with heavy rain and clouds completely covering the Top Floor view point. We took a chance and went up, but the visibility in third floor (Top Floor view point) was just 3 to 5 ft. We did manage to take a few snaps, when the weather cleared slightly for a few minutes








In the lift, going up to the third floor of the Tower






The weather was completely packed up with visibility of just 5 ft






The Tower Inauguration data at the view point






A closeup of the Inauguration Data






A snap of the city landscape, taken when the weather cleared up a bit






Another view of the landscape across River Seine






A view of Nepoleon's Tomb (Les Invalides)






An open top Tour Bus of Paris



Pictures of the Tower from the Ground



          We tried to take some snaps of the Tower, after coming down, but the upper half of the Tower was hidden in the clouds and the area around the lower portion was hazy. Hence we decided to make an attempt again on 10 Sep 2013.






A view of the Tower from Champ de Mars






The Base of the Tower from Champ de Mars






The Southern Pillar of the Tower



Notre Dame Cathedral - 10 Sep 2013


          Notre-Dame de Paris (IPA: [nɔtʁə dam də paʁi]; French for "Our Lady of Paris"), also known as Notre-Dame Cathedral or simply Notre-Dame, is an historic Roman Rite Catholic Marian cathedral on the eastern half of the Île de la Cité in the fourth arrondissement of Paris,France.[2] The cathedral is widely considered to be one of the finest examples of French Gothic architecture and among the largest and most well-known church buildings in the world. The naturalism of its sculptures and stained glass are in contrast with earlier Romanesque architecture.

          As the cathedral of the Archdiocese of Paris, Notre-Dame is the parish that contains the cathedra, or official chair, of the archbishop of Paris, currently Archbishop André Vingt-Trois.[3] The cathedral treasury is notable for its reliquary which houses some of Catholicism's most important first-class relics including the purported Crown of Thorns, a fragment of the True Cross, and one of the Holy Nails.

          In the 1790s, Notre-Dame suffered desecration during the radical phase of the French Revolution when much of its religious imagery was damaged or destroyed. An extensive restoration supervised by Eugène Viollet-le-Duc began in 1845. A project of further restoration and maintenance began in 1991.







 A view of the Cathedral from the Entry Gate






A view from the Courtyard - Self & Sirisha, my second Daughter






A closeup of the Cathedral from the front Gallery







The entry & exit of the Cathedral from the Gallery







Main Entry to the Cathedral which is now closed






The Pulpit of the Cathedral






A closer view of the Pulpit






A side view of the Cathedral from across River Seine



The Crypt


          The archaeological Crypt under the Parvis de Notre-Dame de Paris was built to protect the ruins discovered during the excavations that began in 1965, conducted by the Commission du Vieux Paris (Archaeology and Architecture History Department). The crypt was opened in 1980 with the aim of presenting elements from the successive buildings constructed on the site from Ancient times to the 19th century.

          The archaeological Crypt is located under the Parvis and accessed by staircases opposite the cathedral, near the Police Headquarters / Préfecture de Police.







A view of the Roman era Ruins in the Crypt






Another view of the Ruins in the Crypt






The Ruins in the Crypt






Note:- Information about the places given in this blog is Courtesy Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia  

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