Monday, January 16, 2012

So. Many. Stairs.

On Sunday morning, we went to the Musee de Arts et Meiters, which contained thousands of original inventions. Not copies, not pictures, actual objects created by the inventor. We saw the first battery, the first telephone, the first calculator (made by Blaise Pascal), and several other objects that were very familiar to objects that we see and use today. The museum also contained other interesting pieces, like this sculpture...

How Much of This Sculpture is Made of Glass?
Other items at the museum included cars, the first French airplane, scale models of the Statue of Liberty, bicycles for men and women, and a giant pendulum that shows the earth's rotation. It also included a large, super expensive experiment by Lavossier to show that water is not a pure element of the earth. With all of the awesome things, and the superb tour by our wonderful tour guide, everyone enjoyed the museum.

After a quick lunch, we made our way to the Effel Tower. Jenny was so pumped, she couldn't stop talking about it as we were walking up. 

She finally noticed him and accidentally whacked him in the face.
We decided to take the stairs up the Effel Tower. That meant hiking up over 700 stairs in the metal structure. We were quite winded but got some cool pictures and spent a significant time wandering the first, second, and top level. (There was even an ice skating on the first level, which none of us actually partook, but thought was awesome.) The top level was very chilly, but several members of the group decided to use the restroom up there!

Then we went to the Arc De Triomphe. To climb more stairs. At the top we were able to see the twinkling lights of the Eiffel Tower and Paris at night. After we came back down, we took a walk down Champs-Elysees and looked at some expensive things and some really nice cars. 

On Monday, we first went to Notre Dame and guess what? Climbed more stairs. Spiral stairs. Small spiral stairs. Notre Dame was beautiful, the view from the top and down in the sanctuary with the giant stained glass windows.

After lunch and some souvenir shopping, we traveled over to the Louvre. It was ginormous, but we all some some cool pieces of art. And here we sit again, exhausted, with swollen legs, ready for another full day tomorrow.

Thanks for all to read this blog, feel free to leave comments or questions! 

Love,

David, Dylan, Andrew, Justin, Sarah, Emilie, Emily, Jenny, Miriam, Megan, Roxy, Sarah, and Anna

4 comments:

  1. I'm guessing the sculpture is 100% glass. Is that right?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The whole sculpture was made of glass except for the internal structure of the lion and a part of the flower.

      -DJ

      Delete
  2. Just to be clear, was there a restroom at the top of the Eiffel Tower?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, there is a restroom at the top.

      -DJ

      Delete