Wednesday, April 18, 2007

Arch of Triumph Staircase


Several of you asked yesterday if you had to walk up the stairs to reach the top of the Arch of Triumph and Pont Girl mentioned a spiral staircase... Well, here it is. There is an elevator though, but it's normally reserved to disabled people - which is pretty stupid because it does not go all the way to the top - there is still the equivalent of one story to reach the top. Anyway, I asked to use the elevator because of my bad knees and it worked ;)

41 comments:

  1. What a beautiful picture! Photos like this always remind me of spiral sea shells...brain fart right now so I can't think of the proper name.

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  2. I am really moved by the beauty of this photo. The more I look at it the more interesting it becomes to me.

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  3. Awww...la..la..la!!! I like it, I like it!! Au secours Maman...I'm falling!!

    philly...Make sure you wear your "black sneakers" the day you climb these stairs, so you will not slip...LOL!!! You lucky kid!!

    tomate...I think I saw an Eiffel Tower somewhere there.... ;-)

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  4. kpgallant
    my shoes are ready, I wonder about my stamina...I usually do steps at work rather than the elevator, maybe I should skip lunch and go up back down and up again...lol

    phx-cdg
    great expression of this beautiful photo

    Eric
    beautiful photo, merci

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  5. Ok, so I wasn't prepared for that! This is one serious staircase... guess I better start practicing for it!!!

    This shot is fantastic. I love the way your clever eye makes everything more interesting!

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  6. Nice shot! KPG, you're right, somebody has a miniature Eiffel Tower in their pocket within 25 ft of the camera, I can just smell it ;)

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  7. Spirall staircases are challenging to photograph. Well-done!

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  8. What's that I spy with my little eye at the bottom of the photo? Ah yes, Eric's shoe! Can't tell cause there's so little of it showing, but seeing as this is Eric I'm sure it's a very fashionable and expensive Parisian shoe.

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  9. Beautiful composition, Eric. Nautilus shell, I think, Soosha.

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  10. Oh, this staircase brings back fond memories! Eric, I took this exact same photo! How funny! For all of you planning on taking the climb, if I did it, I assure you that you can do it! Seriously! This is one of the reasons you can eat whatever you want when in Paris - what with all the walking, and climbing - I always end up a few pounds lighter when I get back home! I am so jealous of all of you who will be there soon!

    Sorry to hear about your knees, Eric!

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  11. this reminds me of the spiral staircase at the vatican in rome..but much more compact..i love this photo and how you captured the 'swirl' :)

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  12. Deadly, deadly, deadly stairs (the Vatican is worse though)... but well worth the sweat-filled walk.

    Only place in town where you can see and appreciate the real "étoile" brick pattern in the centre of the Place Charles DeGaulle in on top of the Arc.

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  13. I came across your site from surfing the web. I love all your photos.

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  14. Yes Soosha, It's a nautilus shell I believe you are thinking of. I had the same reaction when I opened the photo. I want to know how you took this Eric with nobody else in the staircase? Did you make an announcement? "Everybody Out! I need to take a photo!!"

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  15. I had walked for a few hours the last time I went to the Arc de Triomphe. Just pointed to my white hair and sighed and got to go on the elevator. I had walked the stairs other times before and didn't feel the need to do it again.

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  16. ca me rappel l'escalier de chez ma grand mere, je l'avais shooté a une epoque...
    et dire que je l'ai monte cette escalier le soir de France Italie en 1998 pour la coupe et que de souvenirs me revienne...

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  17. Reminds me of a superb picture from a very typical wooden staircase you took after enjoying a very good dinner at the wonderful appartment of a so close friend of yours !
    ;o)

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  18. I thought of the arrondisement plan of Paris when I first saw the photo. It is fascinating. As folks are discussing stairs, I thought of the stairs of the Tower of Pisa. I haven't been there for years. They might be blocked to the public by now. They were killers even though I was young and healthy at the time of my ascension. That is going to heaven the hard way. LOL

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  19. GG - would this happen to be the staircase you are referring to?

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  20. Michael, you are simply a-maz-ing ! I truly wonder how you guessed !!! lol

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  21. It is not about the photo but i tought about you yesterday evening. It was a good moment to take a picture on Rivoli street and in a lots of place in paris. The street was full of people waiting for the Benn & Jerry's free cone day (free ice cream).

    http://www.benjerry.fr/blog

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  22. Michael

    I'm so happy you found that stairway photo. I absolutely love it. Wouldn't it make a lovely print with the Arc De Triomphe next to it?!!!!

    I need a new home with lots of wall space.

    Eric
    You not only have a great eye, but wonderful abilities to draw the viewer in...all I can say is when I grow up I want to have your talent!

    I'm going back to look at the link Michael provided again so I can look again. I love the colors and pattern in both.

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  23. This is so pretty. I think it looks like the inside of a nautalus shell. Not surprising, as many of the great engineering designs are taken from Mother Nature...the world's greatest architect.

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  24. Soosha, actually I'm not sure this is my foot, cause I am so sensitive to vertigo that I really stayed away from the center of the staircase as much as I could when taking the photo ;)

    Michael "I want to know how you took this Eric with nobody else in the staircase? Did you make an announcement? "Everybody Out! I need to take a photo!!" LOL. I have just been lucky! And good guess on the staircase GG was referring to.

    Claire, I know, I saw that in the newspaper and I was really crossed I missed it...

    Philly "all I can say is when I grow up I want to have your talent!" LOOOOOOOL!

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  25. Nice shot Eric. As soon as I saw it I knew it was the Arch stair case. Do you want to tell/show how you get to the Arch? My wife and I watch several people run across he street. Now that is entertaining :) in a twisted way

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  26. Excellent shot. Elisabeth turned me on to your blog a few days ago, and I've been enjoying your photos since.

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  27. Ha! This looks just like one of the photos in my scrapbook! There weren't many people climbing that day either, so no extra people to move out of the frame.

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  28. ooh looks like a huge eye looking at us! he he !

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  29. Hi Eric,
    Funny, I took this one few months ago.. (the monument, london)
    http://pix.nofrag.com/13/75/ebc2e5e8bd3c748ea071c0c2134a.html
    pretty close imho !

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  30. If you look at this quickly you might see a giant fan!

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  31. Thank you for taking this stunning photo Eric - now I know what shoes to wear for the outing.
    Thank you also for your kind message on ADP. Ian and I have been quite overwhelmed by the wonderful response from so many DP bloggers. Ian, particularly, has needed this boost from his friends during this period of grieving. Thank you again.

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  32. That's such a beautiful staircase! I'll have to climb it next time I come to Paris. By the time we got to the Arc, we'd already climbed the Eiffel Tower, been up to Sacre Coeur several times, and in and out of all the metro stations - I couldn't face any more stairs! Next time, definitely.

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  33. Vertigo, knees, age, occupation.... it's as if we're twins, Eric, separated at birth!

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  34. this is lovely - like a great big ammonite...

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  35. I still remember going up that narrow, spiral staircase, and taking a break, getting to the top whilist sucking wind, and when we step out into the plaza at the top, I promptly trip on the ONE STAIR that went down! I felt like a dork! I love that place tho! Thank you for the memory!
    Take care~
    AliciaInAlaska

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  36. That is an absolutely breathtaking photo, Eric. I have a fear of height so I never attempt to go up the Arch. This photo itself makes me nauseous. But it is still a beautiful photo.

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  37. I went up those same stairs just a week ago. My hands were shaking when I propped my camera on the rail, so the shot didn't come out. 284 steps. It's a great view, though. I got my breath back when I saw the Eiffel tower all lit up with strobes. :)

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  38. oh man... I wish I would have thought of that... no doubt they'd have let this pregnant lady up that elevator, rather than taking the 284 stairs... Oh well. I made it =) and I took this shot too! Love those stairs... just hate the walk up them! ;)

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