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and once at night...
I love when the tower sparkles. It just feels magical. It's actually really pretty.
We ran into two girls from Colombia who were there for their last night, and ALL of the batteries in every device they had that could take pictures had died. So we took their pictures and promised to email them.
Only, I can't find the pics. Ames? Were they on your camera?
2 comments:
Ummm...I don't know. I'll look and get back to you ASAP. Want to email me their email address?
Interesting random but completely useless facts about the Eiffel Tower: M. Eiffel was an engineer. He designed things made from iron rather than steel because steel was prohibitively expensive. Iron (ironically!) is better in compression strength and steel is better in tension. So structures like the Eiffel Tower and the old iron bridges are build to put the members in compression, while suspension bridges and the like use steel cables to hold them in tension. (I just re-read that sentence - it sounds a little funny, but you get the idea...). The "legs" of the Eiffel Tower are what holds it up, and there is little or no weight on the beautiful, graceful arches that actually hang off that structure on the lowest portion. Thus proving that even engineers sometimes appreciate the beautiful... (Actually, that's not true. Engineers have some very good ideas and come up with some very beautiful stuff - see Santiago Calatrava's stuff for further examples...). Near the Eiffel Tower is a large exhibition hall that was constructed at the same time for the same exposition. The cool thing about that hall (Galerie des machines) is how the frame of the building is supported by the massive arches which come down to touch the ground on very delicate and beautiful points. Not by Eiffel, but still very cool...
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