The Ham Nomads

15 Oct 2015. <FR> Paris —

Today, being cold, was just the day to go up into the biting wind on the Eiffel Tower. We left camp and took the Metro to get to the Trocadero (aka the Palais de Chaillot). This was place from which we first caught sight of the Eiffel Tower on our last trip. We went across the road into a cafe to get some coffee to warm up (and be entertained by the policeman on point duty there) before we braved the walk down the hill and across the Seine to Gustav Eiffel's tour de force. We had tickets to take us up to the second level, and had to check in at about 11.30am for our 12 noon entry.

Once up on that second level, we decided to get tickets — €6 each — to go right up to the top. The view from the second level is great; the view from the third is stupendous! Last time we were here, this option was not available, so we wanted to take full advantage of this opportunity.

After spending our time on the tower, we were very close to Les Invalides, so this was our next port of call. Les Invalides was the military hospital, and contains the Musée de l'Armée. There are superb exhibitions of militaria. One exhibition traces the history of the French army right from its earliest days, through the Napoleonic Wars, and right up to the present day.

French manuscript describing the Battle of Agincourt, 600 years ago

There's also an exhibition of 3-D relief maps — read 'models' — of various fortresses around France, some dating back to pre-revolutionary times.

Mont St Michel, constructed in 1691 by a monk from the abbey

Another exhibition is of the two world wars, focusing on France and the French, but covering other theatres and armies. There is even a full-size model of 'Little Boy', the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima — it's surprisingly small for such devastation! There's also a full-sized V1 (buzz-bomb) and V2 rocket on display.

A famous profile!

Also within the complex is the Cathedral of Saint-Louis des Invalides, which is contiguous with the Dôme des Invalides, the site of Napoleon's Tomb. One would think that, after the ignominy of Waterloo, the French would have tried to forget Napoleon but, au contraire, he is glorified wherever you go! This tomb is the epitome of French overstatement!

Inside the Cathedral of Saint-Louis des Invalides 

Église du Dôme

The French treat coffee as a precious commodity!
Compare the size of this GRANDE cappuccino with our
credit-card-sized English Heritage membership card!

After an afternoon at Les Invalides, it was finally time to make our way back to the van, for 'lights out'.

Glad not to be driving in the Parisian traffic!

Distance driven — today, nil; to date, 29,782 miles ( 47,930 km )