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.
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12 comments:

  1. Ur-spo23 October, 2011 09:25

    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. Anonymous23 October, 2011 09:34

    No one selling trinkets when we were there, 2008.

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  3. Leon Sims23 October, 2011 12:54

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

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  4. Jean23 October, 2011 13:15

    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. melinda23 October, 2011 15:17

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

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  6. Moving with Mitchell23 October, 2011 15:39

    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. Seine Judeet (Judith)23 October, 2011 16:30

    So, WERE they taking each other's picture?

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  8. John23 October, 2011 18:22

    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. Starman23 October, 2011 20:25

    So what, exactly, is a counterfeit souvenir?

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  10. chm24 October, 2011 05:43

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

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  11. wcs24 October, 2011 07:35

    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. Ron27 October, 2011 02:39

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

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