Journey to the 7e Arr.

Paris is laid out in 20 sections, called arrondisements, which spiral out from the center like a nautilus. On Friday, I had some extra time in the morning to venture out of my hostel in the 5e (5th) Arr., home of sights like the Pantheon, La Sorbonne, and just across the Seine from Notre-Dame. Deciding on my destination, I researched my Metro map and decided to take the plunge.

After a little confusion at the interchange about the direction I needed to go (RER C has two stations that start with "Versailles" on opposite ends of the line) and a 25 minute train ride, I climbed out of the train station to see this waiting for me:

La Tour Eiffel

That's right, I was in the 7e Arr., home of the Eiffel Tower. The monument is larger than you think, or at least, larger than I thought it would be, and even early in the morning it's packed with tourists from around the globe. Such a large monument can be tough to fit into the frame, especially when you don't have any wide angle lenses, so it can take some creative angles to get a picture of the whole thing.

Trying to give a feel for the massive size of this structure

Walking away from the tower, there's a large park, with the École Militaire at the far end. This is another great chance to get some distance between the camera and the tower, without a lot of trees or things in the way.

View of the tower from the end of the park

After my little trip, I went and took (read: failed) an oral French test, went to look for housing and I think I found something that could work out, then went out with a friend to a nearby bar with WiFi to play catch up from not having WiFi at the hostel. As I told her about my day, she decided she wanted to go see the tower before we went as a tour group, so we packed up and headed for the Metro.

I have to admit, the tower was a little underwhelming during the day. Besides being surprised by how large it was, nothing else really made me think about it. The tower at night couldn't be more different. Majestically lit up, it's gorgeous, but hard as hell to get a photo of. Don't worry, though. Just like Asthon Kutcher, I got it with my Nikon.

The Eiffel Tower at night. About once an hour it even sparkles.

Even harder than getting a photo of the Eiffel Tower at night is getting a photo of someone in front of it. Using flash to help fill the area in front, make sure your exposure (sans flash) is right for the tower. Also, these situations hard-core confuse auto focus, so try turning spot focusing off and using field focus. In the end, you may have to switch to manual focus and always take multiple shots to make sure your subject is sharp as a tack.

Petry and Deondre in front of the Eiffel Tower.
Taken with manual focus.

Yours truly in front of the Eiffel Tower.
Taken with field focus, shot by Caitlin Kelly.

The Eiffel Tower wasn't all I shot. I also strolled along the Seine, looking at all of the house boats, bridges, and boat tours. The bridges in this city are all beautiful, each one specially decorated to commemorate an event or to strengthen international relations.

A statue on one of the bridges from the banks of the Seine.
Unfortunately, I didn't get to see its name.

Also, we went on a boat tour down the Seine the next day, and I got to snap some photos of the Musée d'Orsay and other landmarks along the river. It was pretty windy, and the flag atop the Grand Palais was flying strong. While not in the 7e, I shot it from the 7e, so I think it counts...

The flag flying over the Grand Palais

In other news, the apartment search continues. I got in contact with Antoine, a friend I hosted as an exchange student in high school, and he found a couple emergency solutions if I really can't find anything. I did look at a place right off the round-about that encircles l'Arc du Triomphe, but it's a tad more expensive than I would like, and I haven't been able to get in touch with the landlord about any kind of contract. Also, all my recent adventuring has made me much more proficient with the metro system here. I still need to look at my metro map to figure out what lines to take before I leave, but I can now operate a ticket machine, in French, in under a minute. I would say that's a win, even if it's a little one.

Jet lag and time adjustment continues as well. I've frequently been waking up at 5am, and not being able to fall back asleep. Also, I don't know when to be hungry, so I never am. I'm never thirsty either, which is a major problem because I've become seriously dehydrated. Hopefully I'll be getting beck into a rhythm soon though.

Alright, I've finished my lunch, and the waiter at the bistro looks like he's getting a little annoyed with us, so I'm going to get ready to head out. Hopefully I'll get WiFi again soon (there's always McDonald's, right?) and get some more photos up. With so much architecture, I feel like I need to shoot some portraits soon...