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Will St. Martin’s Houseboat out live the Eiffel Tower?

July 24, 2008

De Hollandia is the story of a forbidden voyage, an excentric captain, a stormy past and tribute to a legend.<a href= Click to see video.

Captained by a French architect Claude-Alain Girard, a stubborn man who pursues his dream against French maritime authorities, De Hollandia embarks on a trans-Atlantic in the early 80’s. Today this exquisite houseboat for sale is berthed at the Baie de Cul de Sac in St. Martin, a French overseas territory. To our knowledge their is no other houseboat in the Caribbean that has crossed the Atlantic on her own power. She even still has her engine of origin.

Claude-Alain turned this 1915 grain cargo ship into his personal bachelor’s quarters at the renowned quai de Suffren near the Eiffel Tower before embarking on his Atlantic crossing. Her transformation since Claude-Alain’s era makes for a beautifully renovated and maintained vessel, worthy of her history, worthy of her legend. 

The Eiffel Tower in Paris has become a legendary icon for France, and is known around the world for its daring and unusual structure.

This Paris landmark was named after its engineer designer, Gustave Eiffel, and was constructed between 1887 and 1889. It was built as the entrance arch for the Exposition Universelle, which was a World’s Fair marking the centennial celebration of the French Revolution, with the Eiffel Tower being inaugurated on 31 March 1889, and opening on 6 May 1889.

Over 200,000,000 people have visited the Eiffel Tower in Paris France since its construction. This monument is the most visited paid monument per year, and was the tallest monument in the world until 1930. Still the tallest in Paris, the Eiffel Tower has seen some major events over its time.

However, when the Eiffel Tower was built, it was met with resistance. The public felt it was an eyesore, even though the people of Paris today would not wish to be without it, as it is widely considered a striking piece of structural art!

People were also shocked at the daring shape, questioning Gustave Eiffel, wondering if he really was a good engineer. However, since he and his engineers were renowned bridge builders, he came back with comments stating that it was based on mathematical calculations utilizing wind resistance.

Including the 24 m. antenna, the Eiffel Tower is 324 m. high, weighs in at 7,300 tons, and can sway 6 to 7 cm. in the wind. Due to the thermal expansion of the metal on the side facing the sun, depending upon the ambient temperature, the top of the tower may shift away from the sun by up to 18 cm.

 Gustave Eiffel (in pict Gustave Eiffel (bottom), accompanied by a collaborator Mr. Salles, at the summet of the tower) was only given a permit for the Eiffel Tower to stand for 20 years. As it passed to the City, the Eiffel Tower was to be taken down, but because it became valuable as a communications resource, it was allowed to remain in place even after the permit had expired.

Because the Eiffel Tower was originally meant to be a temporary structure, it now has to be repainted every 7 years, just to stop this famous monument from rusting!

There are three levels. The stairs begin at the south towers, but both the first and second levels are accessible by stairs and lifts. Yet the third level summit is only accessible by lift. On the first platform, the stairs continue up from the east tower.

Taking the steps is not for the faint-hearted, as the actual count of stairs includes 9 steps to the ticket booth at the base of the Eiffel Tower, 328 steps to the first level, 340 steps to the second level, and 18 steps to the lift platform on the second level.

When exiting the lift at the third level, there are another 15 steps to ascend to the upper observation platform. Whether you think this a good idea or not, the actual step count is printed periodically on the side of the stairs to give you an indication of your progress, and there are a total of 710 steps!

At least you can always have dinner at the restaurant to catch your breath before going back down to the bottom, or if you are more energetic, you can go ice-skating, which has been available at the Eiffel Tower every winter since 2004!

Although most people have the idea that the Eiffel Tower can be seen from almost anywhere in Paris, this is actually not the case. There are only a few of the taller buildings that can get a clear view of the Tower.

Even if people had not heard of the Eiffel Tower before, they were sure to know of it after the 1985 movie, A View to a Kill. James Bond chases May Day (played by actress Grace Jones) at the Eiffel Tower as she parachutes from the tower. The video of the movie’s theme also includes several scenes of the pop group, Duran Duran, staged on the Tower as well.

On New Year’s Eve of 2000 for the Millennium celebrations, the Eiffel Tower played a major role in Paris, as it had fireworks that exploded from the whole length of the Tower in a spectacular display.

 

Written by stringdude · Filed Under Current 

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