Paris II Eiffel Tower

Sunday night, we relaxed with a small picnic on the Champs-de-Mars, the green space at the base of the Eiffel Tower. (The translation is Field of Mars, so named because was used for military training). I've seen the Tour d'Eiffel lots of times from a distance, but it is pretty awesome to see it up close...not because it's an icon of everything French, but because it's just so big!

In October we saw a huge rugby balloon hanging in the middle of it. I've since learned about some more banners that hung from the tower in the past: During World War II, the Germans hung a sign on it that read: "Deutschland Siegt Auf Allen Fronten" ("Germany is victorious on all fronts"). In 1958, as Fidel Castro was rising to power, Cuban revolutionaries hung their red-and-black flag from the first level, and, in 1979, an American from Greenpeace hung one that read: "Save the Seals". What a billboard!