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The whole object of travel is not to set foot on foreign land; it is at last to set foot on one’s own country as a foreign land.” – G.K. Chesterton

Friday 13 September 2013

Paris Day 3 (Part 2): Arc de Triomphe and Champs-Élysées

I felt like a school girl again when we were in Paris and went to see the Arc de Triomphe, one of Paris' most famous monuments that I'd learnt about during French classes in high school. Here's what we got up to after our delicious lunch on day 3 of our time in Paris.

Arc de Triomphe, as viewed from the south:

The Arc is at the centre of an extremely busy roundabout that has six or seven lanes with no lane lines:

We got to the Arc from outside the roundabout by using one of the underpasses. The Arc stands 50m high, 45m wide and 22m deep (this image is stitched from three separate shots):

This triumphal arch honours those who fought and died for France in the French Revolution and the Napoleonic wars, and the names of all the French victories and generals are inscribed on the inner and outer walls:

There is an eternal flame beneath the Arc on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. The flame burns in memory of the dead who were never identified, by the inscription that translates to "Here lies a French soldier who died for the fatherland 1914–1918":

Walking down the most famous street in Paris - Avenue des Champs-Élysées, oft described as la plus belle avenue du monde ("the most beautiful avenue in the world"):

Across the road to the south footpath of Champs-Élysées:

Amongst the upscale shops on Champs-Élysées is a branch of Ladurée, a French luxury bakery and sweets maker house, one of the best known makers of macarons in the world. Unfortunately, the queue was much too long for this weary family who'd been up and out since early, so we just settled for looking at the goodies:

There was even a Lamborghini shop, and we stopped for a brief while to admire a racing car on display, for the 4.5-year-old boy's benefit:

I have so many more photos to show and tell, so stay tuned!

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