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Trip to France

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Here are more great pictures from our vacation.

Monaco

Monaco has many large buildings

Monaco is a very small country located on the southeast part of the French Riviera. They are currently constructing a pier that is to be the biggest and heaviest pier in the world. Since they are running out of space on land to build homes, they are building out into the sea.

Arc De Triomphe

No elevator on this one!

Where the Arc de Triomph stands was once to be an Elephant instead. Standing 130 meters with each leg containing 196 steps that acends to the top, the view is worth the exhausting trip.

La Tour Eiffle

It stands 330 meters tall

Did you know that the tower grows 2" tall during the summer due to the expansion of the metal from the heat? Unfortuneately no one is allowed to go to the very top due to an accident some time ago. The size and geometry of the tower place high demands on the corrosion protection and maintenance of the steel and makes maintenance particularly difficult. The maintenance operation takes place every seven years , lasts 14 months and uses 60 tonnes of primer and top coat paint on a total surface area of 200,000m2. During this operation, the 320 meter high tower is overhauled from top to bottom by a team of 25 painters who remove rust, bird droppings, loose paint and the damage caused by pollution from the city's atmosphere.

The French Alps

This was looking out from the southern French Alps

This day was certainly a day for driving! We were on our way home from a scenic car trip to the mountains when I suggested to stop to take pictures of the sun setting just behind the French Alps. What a fantastic outcome eh?