Sam Carlberg

My favorite part of Paris, the famous Arc de Triomphe, can finally be seen from the top of the bus. The detail on this arch is the main reason that I like this structure, but there are others as well. The miniscule detail is hazy but the grand sculptures are easily recognizable, even in this fog. As I get closer I can see each individual feather on each wing and each wing on each angel. The detail on this huge
monument overwhelms me.

This Arc celebrates Napoleon’s victories in battle. After defeating rival armies and countries, the Emperor commissioned sculptors and artists to build this grand archway, not knowing that it would take over 100 years to create. During World War II the French soldiers used this structure as a bunker, where German troops forced surrender of the French after many casualties. The roots of the Arc de Triomphe are violent, and that makes me sad – why build a monument to violence when one can make a monument to peace just as easily?

From the bottom if this structure L’Arc seemed huge, but when I see it from above it looks still bigger. I climb the stairs to the top and reach a final elevation of 300 feet, the very top of the monument. L’Arc de Triomphe seems huge and everything else appears tiny from this height. Even the great Eiffel Tower seems undersized and much shorter than its 1000 feet; it makes the tallness of this Arc even more noteworthy. This arch is the most impressive monument I have ever seen. It takes my breath away.