Journal 5

My absolute favorite place I’ve ever visited is Paris, France. All of my family lives in Paris so I’ve experienced it as a tourist and as a local. I love that Paris is filled with so much history and beauty. My favorite part about Paris is the Eiffel Tower. At night time the Eiffel Tower lights up and glitters for about five minutes, every hour on the hour. I always tell people that sitting and watching the Eiffel Tower light up with a nutella crepe in one hand is my happy place.

The Eiffel Tower was built for the World Fair of 1889 by Gustave Eiffel. Today it is known as one of the beautiful structures in the world, but back when it was built many of the Paris inhabitants thought of it as an eyesore. This was a huge controversy, and still continues to be a topic of controversy today. At the time people complained that it was structurally unsound, and said that it didn’t fit in with the architecture of the rest of the city. The Eiffel Tower was much more contemporary in design, while the rest of the city was still supporting architecture that was built one hundred years earlier.

Today people still deliberate on whether or not the Eiffel Tower blends in with the rest of the city. A lot of time people will say it sticks out like a sore thumb in a city of such dainty structure. Personally, I think the Eiffel Tower is a wonderful addition to the city. It may be different in design than the rest of Paris, but I think it provides diversity. I think it helps the city exemplify such old and rustic style, as well as simply a technological and modern segment.