The Eiffel Tower - can never get enough of those twinkling lights

I love the Eiffel Tower. Not everyone does, not even every French person. I can't understand anyone not being mesmerised by its sheer presence, its domination of the Paris skyline day or night. It has so many personalities - every photo you take can be different, depending on the sky, the clouds, the light.

I love the history of the Eiffel Tower engineered by Gustave Eiffel, how it was supposed to be a temporary edifice erected for the International Exhibition of Paris of 1889 (Paris Expo.) Its dimensions are stupendous. At 300 meters (320.75 m including antenna), and 7,000 tons, it was the world's tallest building until 1930. The tower was almost torn down in 1909 after the Expo was over, but there was a decision made amongst great controversy (we are talking French people!) to keep the tower, despite quite a large groundswell of negativity. The fact that Gustave Eiffel began to fit the peak of the tower as an observation station to measure the speed of wind, along with encouraging other scientific experiments, helped le Tour Eiffel's case for standing tall. Read more...

I, for  one, am glad the tower stands today. Judging by the number of tourists jostling in the queues to ascend the tower, I'm not the only one. On my first trip I stood in the light rain for hours, hoping to get up to see the sunset. It was more like sunrise! But I'll never forget laughing along with the crowd and munching on chocolate crepes and drinking filthy coffee while I waited for my turn to go up. I'll also never forget my first sight of Paris by night, with all the landmarks clear and bright - Champs Elysee, Arc de Triomphe, the streets, even the 'lipstick,' the Monparnasse tower.

Eiffel Tower, you rock!