Persistent Mr. Eiffel

I took a short online quiz entitled Which City should You Live in? (You may take the quiz here.), which one of my Facebook friends shared on her timeline the other day… Guess what I got? PARIS! 😀 So in “celebration” of the result of that quiz (as if there is even any truth to it. haha), I wore my Paris shirt, which has the iconic Eiffel Tower printed on its front, today. 🙂 I tucked it into a pair of black semi-baggy trousers, wore a denim blazer over it, and completed the whole ensemble with metal-pointed pumps.

Speaking of the Eiffel Tower – did you know that it was almost never erected? At the start of its construction, a number of notable French artists formed a group called Champ de Mars: A “Committee of Three Hundred” (three hundred representing the height of the tower, which is 300 meters, the tallest at that time) to protest against it. The committee stated in their petition that the tower was a monstrosity and could possibly destroy the image and beauty of Paris, specifically of the Champ de Mars, which is the particular location of the Eiffel.

Thankfully, the proponents of the now world-famous tower, led by Engineer and Architect Gustave Eiffel, were persistent enough on finishing the project and were so keen in proving that what they were building was a grandiose work of art. Eiffel even compared it to the pyramids of Egypt in terms of artistry and beauty. Well, good thing he and his men did not let their detractors affect them and that their supporters did not leave them when opposition was so strong. When the tower was close to being finished, many of those who opposed its construction changed their minds and were convinced that the tower was indeed a masterful architectural creation. And though some remained loathing the structure even up to the time it was already operational, the rest of the world had affirmed years after what the creators of the tower had believed from the start: that the Eiffel had the makings of being a world icon and would be one structure the city of Paris and the whole of France would be best known for. Now, almost everyone dreams of having a glimpse of the Eiffel whether in person, in pictures, or even in good ‘ol shirt prints. 😀