The Pont d’Avignon is a medieval bridge spanning the Rhone river in the town Avignon in the south of France. Built in 1185 the bridge originally spanned 900m and consisted of 22 arches. Today though only 4 of the arches survive, the rest collapsing due to catastrophic floods. The bridge leads into the Palais des Papes, Palace of the Popes, residence to many Popes during the 1300′s.

The Eiffel Tower, it makes Paris what it is. So recognisable, such an iconic monument, 384 metres of solid steel towering into the sky. No wonder then that it’s the most visited monument in the world, steel is sexy right? Perhaps I’m not the only one that thinks so, but I like this structure. I have climbed it twice now and admired many of its fancy light shows. This time though instead of the usual ‘postcard’ photo I positioned myself at the base of the tower looking straight up into the guts of it. The patterns the steel form, the symmetry and the lighting all add to the towers beauty. I could come back to Paris again in another 10 years and still be in awe at the Eiffel Tower. Paris, I love you.

The Arc de Triomphe, another famous monument of Paris, built to honour those who fought and died in the French revolution and  Napoleonic wars. Positioned in the middle of a crazy busy intersection where cars weave in and out of each other with no regard to any road rules, how there isn’t a pile up every 30 seconds I don’t know. I was challenged to run across the intersection to the Arc in the centre, something I did back in 2006. Pure insanity. I tried again this time around but gave up, I must be getting to old and slow. I opted for the much more sensible underground tunnel option to reach the middle.