This is the last post of images from the recent trip to Paris; after this, it's back to regularly scheduled programming. The Eiffel Tower is likely the most-famous of all the Paris icons - arguably the most recognizabe landmark in the world - and yet for as much as we see it in movies, photos, etc., it's still even more impressive when you experience it in person.  It's massive in size and still mind-boggling how it was even designed, let alone built.  Unfortunately, like the Arc de Triomphe, the tower had some renovation work going on with some netting and scaffolding around part of the base, so it was difficult to photograph the tower up close without getting some of that in the image.  The have to repaint the tower every 7 years, and it looked like they were starting that process again as well as updating the lifts in a couple of the legs while we were there. And as a bonus from our trip, here's a quick iPhone video showing the sparkling lights on the tower at night: And here's a few of my favorite images of the tower.

I think what I like about this next image is that it begins to show the massive scale of the tower.

Kylie chillin' (literally) in the gardens in front of the tower.

This is from the 2nd deck of the Eiffel Tower.  It was windy and in the lower 40's by this time, and i didn't have a jacket, so we didn't last long before heading back down.

A merry-go-round out in front of the tower.  While I was taking this, Kylie was ordering up some delish crepes.

A few random images before heading to the graveyard.

And here we are now at Père Lachaise, one of the more famous graveyards in Paris and home of the final resting place of - among other notable people - Jim Morrison.  It's a little morbid, but the graveyard was one of my favorite stops because of the amazing architecture and textures found there.  This first image below shows a row of typical monuments of families each with a set of decorative doors that opens to a small interior with a memorial/shrine including family member names, often flowers, and some type of small opening or stained glass window on the back wall.  Kinda creepy, but very cool.

There was a large crematorium near the center of the graveyard (right side of the image).

More cool doors... very typical of many of the memorials.

Below is the grave for French journalist Victor Noir, reportedly portraying his body as it fell after he was shot in 1870 by Prince Pierre Bonaparte.  Myth says that placing a flower in the upturned top hat after kissing the statue on the lips and rubbing its, um, genital area will bring fertility, a blissful sex life, or, in some versions, a husband within the year. As a result of the legend, those particular components of the oxidized bronze statue are rather, ahem, well-worn.  And no, Kylie did not perform the bizarre ritual with Victor's monument.  I know someone would ask if I didn't mention it.

There were several people crowded around Jim Morrison's gravesite, so I couldn't get a very good image of it... although ironically enough there's not much to photograph as it's one of the most non-descript memorials in the whole cemetery even though it's stil the most visited.  There used to be a cement bust if him here, but it was stolen years ago and repalced with a more simple head stone marker.

You could do a whole series on defferent cross styles you'll find in the graveyard, and I did.  You'll see just a couple of them in some of the following images.

Boo!  Freaky, right?