Batobus Water Taxi on Seine River at Eiffel Tower, Blk Wt

by Liesl Walsh

Title

Batobus Water Taxi on Seine River at Eiffel Tower, Blk Wt

Artist

Liesl Walsh

Medium

Photograph - Digital Photograph

Description

This image is also available in color. See "Batobus Water Taxi on Seine River at Eiffel Tower, Paris". The Batobus is a fun way to travel the Seine River to the Eiffel Tower in Paris, France. This photo was taken a week before the Seine River flooded in June 2016, when the waters rose to record levels 15 feet above normal (so everything in this photo was under water). The water taxi transportation closed for about a week until the waters receded enough for the boats to travel under the bridges again. The Eiffel Tower is the tallest structure in Paris and one of the most recognizable structures in the world. It was designed and built by the company of Gustave Eiffel, and completed in 1889 as the entrance to the 1889 World's Fair. It sits on the Champ de Mars and overlooks the Seine River across from the Trocadero. In the beginning there was much criticism for the design of the Eiffel Tower, with concern that it would overshadow the other magnificent sights in Paris, but now it is the most visited paid monument in the world with 6.91 million visitors in 2015. The Eiffel Tower is 1,063 feet tall ( 324 metres); the top level's upper platform is 906 feet (276 metres) above ground, making it the highest observation deck for the public in the European Union. During construction pieces of the tower were riveted together in a nearby factory and arrived on site on horse-drawn carts. No drilling or shaping was done on site; if it didn't fit it was sent back for alteration. A total of 18,038 pieces were joined together using 2.5 million rivets. Names of 72 French scientists, engineers, and mathematicians were engraved on the Eiffel Tower to recognize their contributions to the building of the tower. The tower was painted in 3 shades of brown: lighter at the top and getting darker towards the bottom to complement the Parisian sky.

You can read about our adventure in Europe in my husband's book, "Vagabonds in France", by Michael A. Barry. Come with us as we lose our home, put everything in storage, and navigate through Europe for a few months with no return date or home to come back to. Sail across the Atlantic, dodge pickpockets, climb mountains, descend into the Paris Metro, endure nasty weather and illness, witness the flood of the century, and meet some wonderful and not-so-wonderful people. Chuckle with us as we live among the French and try to learn their ways and language. Then make it back home to an empty house we'd never seen before. The book with its 75 illustrations is available in both paperback and Kindle on Amazon at http://www.amazon.com/dp/B01NCUNSEK .

Featured in the following FAA Groups:
The Grayscale Outdoors 8-29-2016
No Place Like Home 9-7-2016
The Road Less Traveled 9-26-2016

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August 28th, 2016

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