Paris the second

After my breakfast of infinite pastries I was off and away again, through the Tuileries Garden, up the Champs-Elysees to the Arc de Triomphe then over to the Eiffel Tower and back along the river's edge, then up through my neighbourhood until I finally found a supermarket. I was beginning to think Parisians existed solely on coffee and coolness.

Colonne Vendôme, literally right around the corner from my hotel. It was erected by Napoleon, so guess it translates as "Column Overcompensate Much?"

Eiffel Tower from Place de la Concorde at the end of the Champs-Elysees. I had kind of forgotten about the tower so it was quite the thrill to suddenly spot it.

In Paris instead of cycle lanes they have winged horse lanes. I had to give way to this guy.

The golden bit commemorates how they got the obelisk from Egypt to France, so it's pretty much a monument to a monument - an early example of post-modernism.

In New Zealand roundabouts have agapanthus on them. In Paris they have Arc de Triomphes. You have to go underground to get to it - thank heavens, because there are no marked lanes on the road and it's pretty insane.

Impressive. A fair trade for all those war casualties, am I right?

This guy's face! I can't get over it. He's all "In 200 years someone will be wrong on the internet!"

Various view from the top of the Arc. Appreciate them, dammit, because there was much climbing of spiral stairs involved. I was told there'd be a lift!

I was all "that guy stole George Washington's look!" but it is George Washington. Run out of your own heroes? Use some other country's! Although from memory France and the US were pretty tight around Washington's time, due to the revolting nature of both countries.

Athena doing the dance of triumph. Look, she is actually putting her left leg in and shaking it all about. I smell a Step Up/Night At The Museum crossover!

Usually you go insane and jump off a bridge. In Paris you jump off a bridge and then go in-Seine. Whew! I've been waiting all day to get that one off my chest!

Found it! That is not a good angle though, it looks a little hippy. 

Winston Churchill again! Prime Minister of Unheroic Statue Poses. Also England.

As an example of how out of control Paris is: this is the Petit Palais.

It's early evening now and I'm kind of siesta-ing because I want to head out later and look at the same things, only all lit up in Paris's glorious salute to nuclear power.