Category Archives: Eiffel Tower

Fontoy, France to Frankfurt, Germany

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Day 30    Monday, September 29, 2025

Today is a travel day to Frankfurt Germany and we have been travelling for month already. Bob says we have to stop and see another Eiffel Tower along the way but it is not quite as impressive as the one in Paris!

We had no idea that this is wine country.  There are vineyards on both sides of the road as far as we can see.

The hills around each town we pass are all growing row after row of grapes.  We see the odd group harvesting grapes but the main harvest occurred earlier this month.

We stop in Trier and have our picnic lunch on a bench with this view.

The breeze blew water spray and made a rainbow just as I took this photo.

This foot of Emperor Constantine is a replica of one of the largest marble foots to have survived since antiquity. It was part of a 12 metre high seated statue of Constantine.

The Roman Baths are considered to be the largest Roman baths outside of Rome. 

The ruins are impressive!

We are able to walk through the underground tunnels that would have been used as a service level for the maintenance of the bath’s heating system. This is the entrance to the tunnels.

There was a group of schoolchildren ahead of us…probably the loudest group we have encountered on our travels! We took a side tunnel to avoid walking behind them. There are a maze of tunnels and we are free to explore as we wish. That is Bob peeking around the bend in the tunnel.

We do get a bit lost down here, but it was a lot of fun exploring these interesting tunnels.

Which way should we go!

This photo shows the size of the original baths, although they were never actually completed. The ruins of today are superimposed on the original baths.

The ruins are impressive, but they are only half the height of the original structure! We pass this lovely garden on the way to visit Trier’s cathedral.

Photos really do not show how beautiful and enormous the trees are. I wish we were able to grow trees this large back home. These trees wouldn’t survive our colder climate.

Trier Cathedral is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and the oldest cathedral in Germany. Construction started in the 4th century and it was built upon the foundations of ancient Roman structures.

And yes, the inside of the cathedral is very impressive.

It has one of the most ornate organs we have seen… and many huge sculptures with multiple figures. We walk up these stairs for a view of the nave. This beautiful blue and white Baroque stucco work decorates the choir loft of the Cathedral. It is stunning and unusual. This is the first time we have seen anything like this in a cathedral.

We pass this building on the way to the Nigra Gate. There are many ornately decorated buildings in Trier.

I love watching the bubble makers, and the children trying to catch the bubbles. This fellow made huge bubbles…

and lots of smaller bubbles.  I would love to know how to do this.

At the end of the street we can see the Nigra Gate, another UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The Porta Nigra, or Black Gate, is the largest Roman gate in Northern Europe.  It was part of the defensive walls and gates that surrounded Trier in 200AD. It is  incredibly well preserved, especially when you consider that it was completed around 200AD, and it almost two thousand years old!

We pay 6€ each to climb inside the gate. This ‘window’ has a pile of coins, perhaps people making a wish?

A view inside the gate.

We can see the Trier Cathedral from the second level of the gate.

Grafiti has been around for a long time.  Some of the dates on the walls are hundreds of years old.  I do really hate this practice of defacing monuments.

There is Bob, I sent him down to the street so he could take a photo of me in one of the gate arches.

Here I am.These carved decorations are still in remarkably good condition.

Walking back to our car we stop for a photo of the Electoral Palace. We had our lunch in its beautiful gardens which have many white statues and small ponds.

Another gorgeous tree.

The clouds are moving in on our drive home.

Big black ominous clouds.

We arrive at our Airbnb in Frankfurt. It is smaller than our last place but cozy and has everything we need.

Eiffel Tower, Bourdelle Museum and Drink and Draw

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Day 6,      Friday, September 5, 2025

 It always takes me awhile to feel comfortable drawing when we are on holidays, and as I hadn’t done any drawing for almost a month before we left, I really had a hard time getting started.  While we were sitting in Notre Dame during Vespers yesterday I finally took the plunge.  

Then riding home the metro I did these quick sketches.Friday we managed to start our day at noon. Soon we were at the Eiffel Tower.  Somehow it doesn’t seem right to be in Paris and not visit this iconic landmark, even though we have visited it several times already including climbing to the second level. We will try and book a visit on our return to Paris at the end of our trip to go all the way to the very top level!  These tickets book up weeks ahead.Two years ago we picnicked on the grass near here, but there were not nearly as many people as there are today.

We found a bench in the shade away from the crowds to eat our lunch and watched as seven military personnel complete with machine guns approach on the path in front of us.  I held up my phone to take photo and the leader signalled towards me with his finger…then one of the men following him came over to tell us that we were not allowed to take photos.  I wonder if they do not want photos of their faces published anywhere…so after they passed and we were walking behind them I snapped this one.  France is on high alert right now, but these are the first fully armed military we have seen this trip.

One more view of the Eiffel Tower, looking towards the bridge across Seine behind it. There are people everywhere, enjoying the sunshine.  The first time we visited we could walk right under the four massive legs but now this area is all closed off behind glass panels and everyone who wants to get close has to go through a security checkpoint which includes bag checks and full body scan, just like at the airports.

It is a 45 minute walk from the Eiffel Tower to the Bourdelle Museum.  On the way we pass the UNESCO headquarters in Paris. You can still see the Eiffel Tower in the distance.

Just a bit further we pass this hotel that has trees and shrubs growing all over it.  I wonder what happens when they outgrow their planters?

There are all sorts of interesting building in Paris.  As we near the museum we pass this car park, completely panelled in brilliant colours.

The museum dedicated to Antoine Bourdelle is free. We first find the cafe and have some tea and cookies.  It felt good to just sit and relax for a while.  Bourdelle was a student of Rodin and after Rodin’s death Bourdelle dominated the field of monumental sculpture.  We see many examples of these monumental sculptures.  The museum is at the site of Bourdelles original  studio. As he became successful he added more rooms and gardens until it appeared much as it does today.  

One of the studios has this huge study for a hand.

Bourdelle was 50 years old when he finally became successful thanks to his Hercules the Archer statue. It represents the Greek hero wielding his bow to shoot down the Stymphalian birds. Copies of this sculpture were created in three versions and are in numerous museums in France and abroad.

There is a room full of magnificent sculptures…

and there are more sculptures in the gardens and courtyards.  Can you see Sue? (short for souris which means mouse in French). Since this little green mouse stowed away in our luggage she insists on coming along with us on our travels.

Sue is very curious and likes to check thing out for herself.

There are two of these huge horse sculptures at the museum.  

Bob sits in one of the gardens to read for a bit and I sketch one of the sculptures close by named Penelope, a larger than life size bronze of one of the wives of Odysseus, who waited faithfully for her husband to return. Bourdelle used the features of two women who loved him, he generous curves of his first wife, Stéphanie Van Parys, and the posture of his student, Cléopâtre Sevastos, the muse who would become his second wife.

After our visit to the museum. I went to a Drink and Draw session nearby and Bob headed for home.  Here are the drawings from my first life drawing session this trip.

2 minute poses and one 5 minute pose…

two more 5 minute poses…

two 5 minute and one 10 minute pose…and a 15, a 10 and a 25 minute pose.  

Ada is our model tonight, and I am sure that I recognize her from a previous life drawing session in Paris. She thinks that she recognizes me too! but we are unable to figure out where I might have drawn her before. I will have to check my other holiday sketchbooks when I get home. I take the metro and get home at 10:00. Bob meets me at our metro stop and carries my art stuff home for me…I am pooped…it was a ten hour 15,000 steps day!

Life drawing and Exploring Paris

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Day 83,   Sunday November 19, 2023

I have two life drawing sessions planned for today.  One at the Montmartre Life Drawing Studio in the afternoon and another at an artist’s studio from 5 to 7 pm this evening. Bob goes out exploring while I am drawing.  Today there is some sunshine, and no rain!

The Eiffel Tower is visible on the skyline.

This interesting exterior belongs to Stade Jean-Bouin. The 19,904 capacity stadium is used mostly for rugby, but is also used for American football and association football matches.

Pont Mirabeau was built at the very end of the 19th century and  is adorned with four bronze sculptures representing the City of Paris, Commerce, Navigation, and Abundance.

A clever shot through the tree branches.

Can you take too many photos of this iconic structure?  I don’t think so.I attended sessions with the Montmartre Life Drawing group in September so no problem finding their location even though I was coming from a different starting point.  The first thing I see when I leave the metro is this impressive statue in the centre of a traffic circle.

There is a flea market on the median.

There are lots of interesting items but I don’t have time for more than a quick look.

Next I cross a bridge that goes over the top of the Montmartre cemetery rather than cutting it in half… again no time to go exploring.  Life drawing awaits!  I later read that Nijinsky, Degas & Zola lie in this tree-lined burial ground that opened in 1825.

We have a male model for the afternoon, Guiseppé.  We start with five two minute poses

followed by three five minute and a 10 minute poseA 25 minute pose…

and a 15 minute one,

then we end the session with a couple 10 minute poses.  Guiseppé was an excellent model, and fun to draw.

During the break I was checking out Google maps to make sure I could find the second session and I discovered that I had no internet!  Panic!!  A very kind young lady lent me her phone so I could write down some instructions, but I was worried about being able to find the next life drawing location.  Luckily when I was ready to go to the evening session the internet was back!  I was very relieved that I didn’t have to rely on my hastily drawn map.

Life Drawing Montmartre posts on their Instagram page…Here I am!

Screenshot

The second session was at the photographer J R Franco’s studio/apartment.  These two photos are from his instagram site.  You can just barely see part of my knee and sketchbook in the bottom right corner of this one…

and the top of my grey head I this one.  

We started with two 5 and one 10 minute pose of our lovely female model…seems I forgot to note her name.  I like having that information in my sketchbook.

I loved this 13 minute pose, draped over a couch and chair with her torso hanging in the space between them

It was going to be a session with two models but the male model had to cancel at the last minute, so Jean Robert modelled for us. We started with two 5 minute poses. I concentrated on his face…he had an interesting face.

two 3 minute and one 5 minute pose.  Then we drew both models together in a 10 minute pose,

then one more 10 minute pose.

During the break we had goodies upstairs in a loft area and a tour of Franco’s studio which was also his apartment.

It was a wonderful, full day, and I head home in the dark, but the metro is close by and when I get home Bob has supper waiting!

The Arc de Triomphe and the Eiffel Tower

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Day 8, Tuesday September 5, 2023

It was hot today…34°  and we are visiting  the Arc de Triomphe.  This is my fifth time in Paris and Bob’s fourth and we have never been to the top, so we need to do that today,   Did I mention it was hot? and the steps are winding and narrow, and it was hot! There are  284 steps up to the top, and I am quite pleased that I only have to stop twice to catch my breath.  Climbing 74 steps up to our apartment every day is starting to pay off.  There are twelve major roads that all converge here in a roundabout (traffic circle) with twelve lanes of traffic.  The right of way is the opposite to back home.  The traffic in the roundabout must yield to incoming traffic!  It seems crazy to us, but somehow it works. In this photo 3 lanes of traffic are trying to merge into one to exit the roundabout!

The view from the top is spectacular!  We see Sacré Coeur off in the distance.

And can you have tooo many pictures of the Eiffel Tower?

Here is a view with just three of the twelve roads that all converge at the Arc de Triomphe with the business district way off in the distance.We spend an hour or so admiring the view, and then we climb down those 284 steps, stopping for a moment at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier……and then we walk to the Eiffel Tower. On the way we see this memorial and realize that this is where Princess Diana died in a car crash 26 years ago.

It is hard to believe it was that long ago, I remember hearing that shocking news so clearly.

It is strange that we are not able to see the Eiffel Tower even though we know we are getting close, and then suddenly there it is in the sky between the buildings on one of the side streets. It looks close but it is deceiving.  We still have several blocks to walk… …and a river to cross.We brought a picnic lunch so we find a bit of shade to eat.  It is sad, but there are now glass and metal barricades all around the base of the Eiffel Tower and you must go through a security check to enter this area.When I was here nine years ago, it was possible to walk around under the tower and there was a wonderful view across the river to the Jardins du Trocadero.  You are now allowed  to go to the top of the tower but we will wait to do that when we return to Paris and the weather is a bit cooler. There are quite a few heavily armed policemen walking about.  The one in the middle is carrying a machine gun!We find a spot to relax in the shade only to discover that we no longer have any internet on our cell phone!  We have had so many internet problems this trip!  We are picking up our rental car tomorrow and we definitely need GPS so we use my little paper map book to find a store for the SIM card we bought at the airport.  They do register our SIM for us, which is helpful but they also tell us that their internet has been down and may not be repaired until tomorrow.  We head to the Orange store and get a second SIM for our second cell phone and then discover that our first connection now works just fine.  The price for a month of internet has jumped from the €10 a month that we paid before Covid to €40!   Sure hope that is the end of all the internet issues.  We are hot and tired, and catch a bus home . We walked almost 16,000 steps today, in +34° weather!  And it is going to be +30 for another week!