Sunday, October 23, 2011

Les deux tours

Guess where? When we got over to the Eiffel Tower, the line to go up was incredibly long. You can see the people waiting in line on the right hand side, just above the head of the woman with the plaid backpack. We decided not to wait.

The two tallest structures in Paris: the Eiffel and the Montparnasse towers.

I had warned Mark and Julie to be prepared to be accosted by the dozens of men selling trinkets under the tower. If you've been there, you know what I'm talking about. However, when we arrived, there was not a single guy selling tiny towers to be seen. Then I remembered that I had heard a news story about how the police were cracking down on the illegal souvenir peddlers, many of whom are illegal immigrants selling counterfeit products. The only people we saw were fellow tourists.

Do you notice the two guys on the bottom of the photo? One is sitting and one is standing... they look like they're taking each other's picture.

12 comments:

  1. My favorite Paris/tourist story is the couple who rushed into the louvre, and asked the guard
    "Quick, where's the Mona Lisa? we're double parked!"

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  2. No one selling trinkets when we were there, 2008.

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  3. In 8 visits, coming and going to Paris, we've never been up the tower. Is that strage Walt?

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  4. When we were there on New Year's Day in 1995 there were no tourists, no trinket sellers, just a sea of empty champagne bottles and dead fireworks. We were trying to find somewhere to get lunch but it wasn't easy.

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  5. there were tons of mini eiffel sellers last oct when i was there

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  6. Wow! It looks just like the real tower... you know, the one in Las Vegas. The shot of the two guys is very funny.

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  7. So, WERE they taking each other's picture?

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  8. I recall that the vendors had their wares on a squares of cloth, so they could grab the corners and scoot if they saw police coming.

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  9. So what, exactly, is a counterfeit souvenir?

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  10. I'm not sure but it might not be a souvenir at all!

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  11. michael, hahaha!

    andrew, wow, amazing!

    leon, I've only been twice in thirty years. But once is a good idea.

    jean, must have been strange...

    melinda, that sounds normal.

    mitch, yeah, I keep looking for the casino...

    judy, I have no idea...

    john, yes, exactly.

    starman, probably poor quality, not produced in France or with authorization, no taxes paid, etc.

    chm, ;)

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  12. A very interesting and revealing picture. I didn't realize how big the Eifel Tower was.

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