Outmaneuvering the tourists d'Eiffel (and elsewhere too)

"I love Paris in the spring time" as the classic Cole Porter song goes. So too does the rest of the world, it seems.

That's one of the reasons that we posed with the Eiffel Tower as opposed to waiting in the hours-long line to tour it.

The line to tour the Tour d'Eiffel just kept going. And going. 

But skipping that in no way diminished the Paris experience. In fact, we would find a more memorable way to incorporate the Eiffel Tower into trip later that day.

We walked to the Arc de Triumph after dinner. And we climbed to the top in time to see the sunset. 

The view of the sunset from atop the Arc de Triumph with the Sacre Coeur in the distance.

What would this view be without a selfie?

Quick side note: traffic in the circle around the Arc de Triumph is baffling. Twelve streets, including the Champs Elysees, empty into the circle. And as best I can tell, the traffic in the circle is supposed to yield to cars entering the circle and cutting across to the left. I think. That's the only way I can explain so many cars and buses that seem to end up going perpendicular to the traffic in the circle.

What is happening down there? I don't understand Parisian traffic patterns. 

But back to the Eiffel Tower ...

For five minutes after the sunset, the Eiffel Tower displays a light show. On this evening, it was twinkling white lights.

Elizabeth got the twinkling light show on video. 

Continuing with the obligatory tourist stops, I had to see the Louvre. Elizabeth, who visited Paris for a weekend during her London study abroad trip in 2011, already took that tour and decided once was enough. Plus, Paris is bursting with museums, so she went to the Musee D'Orsay instead. 

Is she amused or bemused by the constant attention? 

For the record, I did work my way to the front of that crowed and got this shot too. 

The Louvre is huge. It's actually two palaces that ultimately were connected (before one part burned down.) This hall seems to go on forever. 

Beyond priceless pieces of art, the Louvre also contains decadent artifacts from French royalty, such as crowns and scepters and the like. This is an extreme gravy boat. (Or something.)