Bonjour! I recently returned from my two week visit to Paris (I tagged along with my husband on his work trip) and I am so excited to share with you my travel photos! They'll be posted here in a series of blog stories and what better way to start off than with the Eiffel Tower, which celebrates its 125th birthday on March 31st! How can you go to Paris and NOT take a picture of it?! I think it's a requirement. It was the very first thing on my agenda: get a picture of the Eiffel Tower. Little did I know that I would end up taking so many pictures of it -- because no matter where you are in the city, it's there. Heck, it's on my sweater! So here you go...my various pictures of the Eiffel Tower (or as the French call it, La Tour Eiffel). Can't say I went to Paris and didn't get a picture of it!

  So just what is the best way to see the Eiffel Tower? Ask THIS guy!...

  OR...if you ask me, it's through eating a hot-off-the-grill crêpe! The view gets better with each bite.

 No, but seriously, it's on an open-top double-decker, hop-on-hop-off tour bus. I did the L'OpenTour bus my second and third days and it was great! I highly recommend it for seeing (and scoping out) all the sights and getting a feel for the city. Below left: a reflection of me on the bus...and there's an Eiffel Tower on it. Below right: behind me!

 Here are a few more tower shots from the comfort of sitting on the bus and getting a nice facial tan in the process...

  Meanwhile back down on the ground, it's on many souvenirs...

...including with hot air balloons! My fave... 

It's on some of the "love locks" that are forever secured on the several bridges by the river Seine... But then again, you can simply just walk up to it and even climb it (or take a lift) -- which I did not get to do because of the long lines! Ugh. It's okay, the views through the yellow flowers and pink trees were just as breathtaking...    But from anywhere in the city, you are sure to get a glimpse of it. ...like from across the street at the Trocadéro where there are beautiful fountains and awesome water cannons...

 Or from the Jardin du Luxembourg where you can relax and people watch...

 Or from the Musée Rodin amongst the graceful sculptures...

 Or from the Place de la Concorde while listening to a ruckus young band entertain the tourists...    Or from the window of the Musée d'Orsay inbetween seeing the Van Gogh and Renoir exhibits...

 Or at sunset from the dome of the Sacré Coeur basilica which sits on a hill overlooking the city...

 But whatever you do, make sure you definitely see it at night when it sparkles and shimmers, on the hour every hour. After all, Paris is the city of lights! Stay tuned, I have several more Parisian pictures to share with you!...Including blogs about: people on bikes, people in cafés, the Versailles palace, and art museums!