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I thought I'd start at the top and work my way down. The tower had only been open for an hour, and I hoped it wouldn't be too crowded. No such luck; on the upper observation deck it was already hard to move around, partly because it was crowded, but mostly because all the tourists were screeching at one another as they blocked each others' pictures and videotaping. I had to be patient to be able to take pictures with no-one in them, and if I hadn't wanted to photograph things that no-one else was interested in, I wouldn't have been able to do it. |
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| In 1977, 3,298,844 people visited the Eiffel Tower. Last year, 5,719,773. Things are only going to get worse. |
| Wandering around the upper observation deck, I wonder if there is a water tank in the upper section. It can't be a very big one. It must take a lot of power to pump water all the way up here, and doesn't the electricity go out pretty much right away in a fire? Mental note to self: scream like a cheerleader at the sight of open flame. |  |
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I circled the upper deck twice, elbowing and nudging my way throught the clumps of sightseers. This is the only phone I saw at the top of the tower. I don't know if it's more than an internal intercom - it's behind a locked glass door. Pourboire Interdit. I mentally shred my Eiffel Tower elevator operator job application, snappy green uniform notwithstanding. |
| The lower observation platform. There are no payphones here. Time to go down. |
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