永遠的異鄉人－－The Eternal Outsider

不管是否去過巴黎，但一旦說起巴黎，許多人第一個浮現在腦海的影像就是艾菲爾鐵塔。這或許是源自於艾菲爾鐵塔不斷現身於眾多以巴黎為場景的電影中。

When talking about Paris, regardless whether they have visited the city before, to many people, the image of Eiffel Tower just pops out, largely comes from the fact that Eiffel Tower is so well-portrayed in many films setting in Paris.

身為巴黎最高也最具知名度的建築物，艾菲爾鐵塔是為了1889年的巴黎萬國博覽會所興建，據說當時的人對艾菲爾鐵塔都不具好感，大概預料不到幾十甚至百年後，參觀艾菲爾鐵塔的人已超過兩億人之多。

The tallest and most recognized building in Paris, Eiffel Tower was built for the Exposition Universelle of 1889. It is known that people at the time despised it; thus, it might very much shock them that decades and even a century later, Eiffel Tower has been one of the most visited monuments with more than 200,000,000 people ever visited.

艾菲爾鐵塔有三個參觀樓層，前兩層可以爬樓梯，也可以搭乘電梯，最頂端的第三層只能搭電梯前往。據說二次大戰期間，在巴黎遭德軍佔領前，法軍將破壞了艾菲爾鐵塔的升降梯，用以羞辱希特勒，讓他想登上艾菲爾鐵塔，非得爬上去不可。最後，希特勒並未登頂。

There are three levels for visitors who may ascend to the first and second levels by taking the stairs or elevator, but are only able to access the third top level by the lift. During WWII, before Paris was occupied by Germany, the French troop damaged the lift, making it unusable, so that if Hitler wanted to get on top of Eiffel Tower, he would have no choice but climb up. In the end, Hitler never made it to the top of Eiffel Tower.

當我和麻煩先生造訪艾菲爾鐵塔時，排隊等待登上艾菲爾鐵塔的人超多，最後我們只在鐵塔下坐著看熙來攘往的人群。

When Mr. T and I visited Eiffel Tower, the line for getting to the summit was way too long. Eventually, we just sat underneath for a while looking at the people and the surroundings.

一如前面所說，艾菲爾鐵塔是巴黎最高的建築物，因此在許多角落都可以看到它的存在。

As said above, Eiffel Tower is the tallest building in Paris, which makes it visible almost every corner in the city (shall you not be barred by any building).

從相距不遠的榮軍院，自然可以看到艾菲爾鐵塔。

Naturally, Eiffel Tower could be seen at the not so distant Hotel des Invalides.

在賽納河的橋上亦可見到遠處的艾菲爾鐵塔身影。

It is also visible on the bridges across Seine River.

不過我自己最喜歡的觀賞地點，則是和艾菲爾鐵塔隔著賽納河相望的夏佑宮。

But my favorite place to photograph Eiffel Tower is definitely the Palais de Chaillot which is on the other side of Seine River from Eiffel Tower.

既然說到夏佑宮，順便提一下，我很喜歡下圖夏佑宮的這個建築物。從照片看起來，會覺得好像是透過一大面一大面的落地窗看進建築物內部，但其實這只是一整面畫偽裝成的。

Speaking of the Palais de Chaillot, I personally like this building at the Palais below a lot. It might look like you are looking into the building through several huge windows, but in fact, it is a giant painting tricking you to believe so!

不覺得這畫裡彷彿流動但實際上靜止的畫面，與廣場的人聲鼎沸形成有趣的對比嗎？！

Isn't the contradiction and contrast of the seemingly flowing yet still painting and the numerous passersby through the Palais interesting?

夜裡的鐵塔會一直綻放光芒到深夜，不定時還會有閃爍的星光狀燈光，可惜我沒拍到這樣的照片哩。

Eiffel Tower would light up until late at night. From time to time, there would be sparkling starry lights. Unfortunately, I didn't get to take a photo of that!