Arc de Triomphe

February 4, 2007
Arc de Triomphe was the first monument we visited on this unusually sunny day in the middle of winter. I thought the sun was cheering me on (or at the very least, acknowledging my presence...heheh). At this point, even after having had a good sleep the night before, I felt delirious at the fact that I was actually in Paris. Afterall, it was literally only the day before when I was working, uh hmm...I mean, roaming the streets of Madrid. The question that kept popping in my head was: "Which virgin did I sacrifice to deserve all this?"

The Arc de Triomphe is a monument in Paris that stands in the centre of the Place Charles de Gaulle, formerly the Place de l'Étoile, at the western end of the Champs-Élysées. It is the linchpin of the historic axis (L'Axe historique) leading from the courtyard of the Louvre Palace, a sequence of monuments and grand thoroughfares on a route leading out of Paris.

The monument stands over 51 meters (165 feet) in height and is 45 meters wide. It is the second largest triumphal arch in existence. Its design was inspired by the Roman Arch of Titus; The Arc de Triomphe is so colossal that an early daredevil flew his plane through it.