Arc de Triomphe

Amy and I also paid a little visit to the Arc de Triomphe and its 284 stairs. The reward it definitely worth the effort.



Plus, after about 230 stairs, you get a little break, and you can look at this cool interacive display.

It's an interactive display of all the arches in the world. In the lower right corner of the picture you can see the touch-screen display of the world. By touching a continent, it then zooms in on that continent, and you can then click on little "Arc de Triomphe" icons to see pictures, locations, and the reason why each arch was erected. Cool, right?

Then there are only a few stairs left to climb and you get to enjoy the views.

Good timing means you can see the Eiffel Tower sparkle from an excellent vantage point.

We also caught the last hint of the sunset as the sun set behind La Defense. Rose colored skies make the business district look almost... pretty. It's a cool skyline to contrast with the color of the sky, at least.

Amy on the top of the Arc

Me on the top of the Arc

Ghostly lights of traffic circulating around the 12-lane roundabout that surrounds the Arc de Triomphe. Not the best picture, technically speaking, but I really like it because A) for once, I managed to get a reasonable straight horizon line, and B) it's mostly symmetrical.

So, there you have it. 284 stairs, a few pics, 12 lanes of traffic, and 2 tired sisters.