Stinky decided he and Periwinkle should start today’s adventure as early as possible, so he and Periwinkle slept at their cottage Monday night.
They arise early, have a good breakfast and hop into their teleportation tunnel. Stinky does not tell Periwinkle where they are going, but as soon as they pop out of the tunnel with the usual whoosh, she recognizes their destination. But, before she can speak, Stinky hands her something he has brought with them.
“Oh, Stinky, Paris in the spring. What a wonderful idea. And a pink beret for me to wear … I love it,” exclaims Periwinkle!
Eiffel Tower Day
“I thought you might like that,” replies Stinky. “Today is Eiffel Tower Day. It commemorates the inaugural anniversary of the Tower, which was unveiled on March 31, 1889. So, we are going to visit it today.”
Periwinkle claps her paws together and gives Stinky a whisker kiss. “OMG, Stinky! I never expected this to be our adventure.”
Stinky takes her paw and leads her to the line where an enormous number of people are waiting. When the other visitors see the famous adventurers, Periwinkle and Stinky, everyone starts urging them to the front of the line. Arriving at the ticket window, the tabbies learn someone in line already paid for their tickets. Not knowing who it was, Periwinkle and Stinky turn and wave and shout, “thank you,” to the crowd.
As they start up the 327 steps to the first observation platform, Stinky tells Periwinkle, “The Eiffel Tower is 1,083 feet tall and was the World’s tallest structure at 984 feet for 41 years, until 1930 when the Chrysler Building in New York took over that record at 1,046 feet and 3 inches. With the addition of a new antenna in 1957, the Eiffel Tower surpassed the Chrysler building. The Burj Khalifa in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, is the current tallest building in the world. Standing at 2,717 feet, it has held this record since 2010.”
Stinky continues “Gustav Eiffel designed the Tower as part of a competition with more than 100 entries. It was to be built to celebrate the 100th year anniversary of the French Revolution and as an exhibit for the Exposition Universelle (World’s Fair).
“Eiffel’s design was selected as the winner. Construction of the project began on January 28, 1887. It took only two years, two months and five days to complete. That was super fast for the 19th century. It took 300 workers, 18,000-plus pieces of iron and 2.5 million rivets to construct this famous landmark.“
“That was truly an amazing feat,” remarks Periwinkle.
The First Observation Deck
The tabbies stop at the first observation deck which is at 187 feet.
“Stinky, You always impress me by how many facts you gather about the places we visit. Please tell me more.” exclaims Periwinkle.
Stinky blushes but continues, “The Tower was only supposed to stand for 20 years.”
“That’s crazy! After all that work, I cannot even imagine such a thing.”
“It’s true. It was to be destroyed in 1909 and sold for parts. But, in an attempt to save it, Eiffel began working with the military and experimenting using the tower as an antenna. Adding an extra nine feet, nine inches of height allowed for the installation of the Tower’s first radio antenna, which gained the Tower permanent status as Paris’s iconic landmark.”
“That was very smart of Mr. Eiffel. I cannot imagine Paris without this beautiful structure,” Periwinkle tells Stinky.
The Grand Palais
From the first observation deck, the tabbies see the Grand Palais. It too was constructed for the 1900 Exposition Universelle (World’s Fair), with construction begun in 1987. Its grand opening was on May 1, 1900.
“That is really a beautiful structure,” exclaims Periwinkle.
The Second Observation Deck
Next the tabbies climb the 347 steps to the second observation deck. From there, they check out the Palais de Chaillot and the Jardins du Trocadéro.
Stinky informs Periwinkle that the hill of Chaillot was first arranged for the 1867 World’s Fair. For the 1878 World’s Fair, the Palais du Trocadéro was constructed. It stood until it was partially demolished in 1937 and the Palais de Chaillot was built
“That is really beautiful, Stinky. Maybe we can visit it if we come back to Paris again,” says Periwinkle. Stinky nods his head in agreement.
After viewing some other areas of Paris from the second level, the tabbies proceed to one of the three elevators to go to the top of the tower. Though, the Tower has steps all the way to the top (a total of 1665 from the ground); it is too dangerous for visitors to climb the ones from the second platform to the top.
A View from the Top
Periwinkle cannot believe it, but immediately upon exiting the elevator Stinky runs to and climbs the exterior railing.
Stinky sees Periwinkle roll her eyes at him. In response he says, “That posted sign doesn’t say anything about not climbing the railing.”
“Probably, because they know no human would be that careless!”
“Wow, this is an amazing view,” exclaims Periwinkle. Stinky agrees, and the two spend time admiring the city.
When it is time to leave, the tabbies hop back into one of the elevators. When they reach the second floor, they decide not to walk back down the steps but take one of the second set of elevators to the bottom.
“Before we leave, I think we should get something to eat,” Periwinkle tells Stinky. He heartily agrees, and they find a cute cafe nearby with outdoor seating.
Some Fun Facts
While eating, Stinky tells Periwinkle, “I have a fun fact, for you: Today, more than 50 replicas of the Eiffel Tower exist throughout the world.”
“That’s pretty cool, but I don’t think you can replicate this one,” she replies.
“I agree. I do have one more fun fact for you, however.”
“Hit me with it!”
“In 136 years, the Eiffel Tower has been repainted 20 times, which on average is every seven years. The job requires 60 tons of paint. The most recent repainting began in 2019 and, for the first time, included stripping parts of the Tower. It was undertaken for the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games. Over the years, the Tower has been a variety of colors, including red, yellow and various shades of brown. Its current color is a yellow-brown.”
After their lunch, the tabbies head to the teleportation tunnel for the trip back to their cottage. They are so tired when they arrive, they immediately fall into bed and fall fast asleep.
The End
Periwinkle and Stinky will be joining the Happy Tuesday blog hop hosted by Sandee at Comedy Plus. To do the same, click on the Happy badge.
Note: Oodles of web-sites dedicated to providing information about the Eiffel Tower exist. I suggest these three, which is where I found much of the information Stinky shared today.
