Let's go shopping in Paris this Christmas.

Some more Paris at Christmas shots.

Nothing quite like this in Oz. This is as much of the Christmas tree as I could fit in - La Fayette on the Grands Boulevards. It was so lovely to browse, get sprayed with French fragrances, sit in one of the booths looking down on all the Christmas frivolity.

And this would be nearer the bottom of this amazing tree. It'll be twinkling away but I'm not there to see it!

A lovely coffee at Starbucks, Champs Elysee after all that shopping.

A little rest on the steps of Sacre Coeur. What a lovely sunny day it was and didn't Paris look wonderful from this spot.

Back to the Arc de Triomphe for a rest between shopping, eating and coffee.

A little stroll along the Pont Alexander 111 is in order in the icy afternoon.

Looking back towards Pont Alexander 111. Someone had enjoyed a little Christmas celebration and forgot to clean up. Not me, I swear!

The fountain was freezing up. It'd be a lot worse this year with the snow everywhere!

 

I've told you in a previous post how much I love the Tour Eiffel, especially when it's in lights and twinkling. This is taken near the Arc de Triomphe roundabout.

Let's finish the night meeting up with Aussie family members at Place Teatre at Montmarte for a lovely warming meal and stroll around the Place and the souvenier shops.

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!