No one ever seems to tire of looking at the Eiffel Tower, especially, at night. Come winter, spring, summer, or fall, it is always visited by tourists.
During the holiday season, it even becomes more attractive, as some decorative structures are added to keep in theme with holiday Paris.
A globe is situated at the center, on the ground level of the
Eiffel Tower...
...housing a white Christmas scene made from flocked, fresh pine trees, and lit up with an animated light projection.
During daytime hours, the globe reflects the rafters (the tower's legs), looking like a canopy that has been designed to house the greenery.
Across the street, the merry-go-round is joined by another attraction. The Eiffel Tower Christmas Market, which opened yesterday.
The entrance - welcome to the Eiffel Tower Christmas market.
Though it is much smaller in scale than the Christmas market at the Champs Élysées, it carries the same food and holiday-gift-idea offerings.
What a treat and convenient stop this is for the tourists who visit the Eiffel Tower - there is somewhere they can go to after, to sit, rest, drink and eat, and even have a place to entertain the young kids in - they are the captive audience for this market.
This snow globe, right at the entrance, is a perfect for a photo op. Once inside, snow-like particles are blown to create snow, falling and swirling around, as your picture is being taken.
For those still shopping for holiday presents, there are artisanal and manufactured products - leather goods, winter clothing accessories and apparel, trinkets and jewelry, wine dispensers and decanters, decorations and other useful items. But, here is one storefront that attracts a lot of attention.
Anything you buy from this store can be personalized.
From one of the adept machine-embroiderers who said he had a gift for me, I got my name embroidered.
As for the food, there are as many sweet as there are as many savory food stalls.
Warm wine, sausages, pomme frites (French fries)
Paella
Crepes, waffles, and beignets (doughnuts)
There is quite a large selection of warm food to order here.
A sweet treat after a meal
One needs to be mindful, though, of all the processed carbs in the sweets and fast-food items, as well as the food additives that are in some of these delicious-looking foods, that are easily consumed in a place like this.
There are several floating restaurants to get to through the stairs leading to the Seine, and this is just one of them.
When the Christmas season is over, all will be back to normal. And the Eiffel Tower will always be a place to visit and a sight to behold.
