This morning we decided it was time to hop on the metro and visit the Eiffel Tower! The problem is that when we got there, we realized the cloud ceiling was so low that if we went up to the top of the tower we would see nothing but cloud. So... probably not the best time to do that. Luckily, there’s a cool playground in the park that sits in front of the Eiffel Tower, so we stopped there and had lots of fun. Anca found a rope, which Anna decided was a leash so she found a stick to be the “dog” and we walked the dog over to another nearby attraction: Invalides. That’s where Napoleon's body rests, and there’s also a weapons museum and a world war museum.
Napoleon’s tomb was over-the-top, as you would suspect. His sarcophagus is big enough to hold an horse and the surrounding mausoleum is similarly Olympian-feeling. I realized that the windows were colored and they created a lighting scheme that’s exactly like the “teal & orange” look that’s so popular in Hollywood, which gave me a chuckle.
Then we moved on to the weapons museum. They had cannons, all kinds of old guns (like, pre-rifle technology), swords & daggers, armor and shields, and so on. It’s amazing how much artistic effort has been put into tools of war.
Anca skipped the world war (both of them) exhibit, but I toured it and was blown away. I’m not a war buff by any means, but I was nearly in tears at the end of each of the two wars. They told the whole story chronologically and it really brought all the loss and triumph to life.
Finally, we went back to the Eiffel Tower, only to find that one of the elevators is broken so the line was two hours long! Needless to say we didn’t hop in line. Maybe I’ll come back in the evening later on by myself.