la ville-lumière...
After having dinner at 10 PM, the sun finally went down and as the sky faded I ventured out one last time (after stopping back at the hotel to pick up a hoodie!) to see the Eiffel Tower by night. By a stroke of luck the tower lit up in thousands of shimmering strobes just as I started snapping photos from the end of the Parc du Champs de Mars, where thousands had gathered to drink and relax in the cold evening air.
Of course the hawkers were back, now with LED-lit mini-Eiffels. It was a long day but making the effort to go out and see the tower by night was completely worth it - it's gorgeous.
The beautiful thing about the tower is how it appears unexpectedly from behind buildings as you walk the city streets. Heading back to École Militaire, I couldn't help but keep gazing at its illuminated spire against the night sky.