At approximately 6:40 PM Eastern time, our American Airlines A330-200 lifted off the tarmac. Seven hours later, it touched down on French soil (well, asphalt) at Charles de Gaulle International Airport.
We had arrived.
Our driver was waiting for us at the airport. We then proceeded to navigate across Paris in rush-hour traffic (it was about 8:00 am), and finally arrived at our apartment building in the La Defense district.
Our building (Tour Eve, 1 Place du Sud) was constructed in 1975, is 109 metres tall, and is probably the only building in the world with its main entrance on the eighth floor. Our apartment is on the thirtieth floor.
The La Defense district is the commercial hub of Paris, and also a thriving residential area popular with young people. Since we were all rather disoriented from the flight and time change, for obvious reasons we didn’t attempt any tours or sightseeing. Instead, we opted to explore the area immediately surrounding our building.
So, enjoy these architectural photographs I took on my phone!
The Total Enegy Ventures building.
The Ariane, a tall, hypermodern apartment building.
Sandwiched between towering glass skyscrapers, these yellow-brick residences form an interesting contrast representative of the district itself.
The La Defense skyline (well, part of it.)
The Coeur Defense residential tower next to the Areva Building.
Looking towards the district’s famous Arch.
Tomorrow’s exploits should be a bit more exciting (and include higher-quality photographs), as we are visiting the immense Musee du Louvre and the Eiffel Tower’s uppermost point.
- Hayden M. Strong
