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The followg pictures were taken on the way to the Grand Palais for an Anish Kapoor (British Sculptor of Indian Birth) installation. The above is part of the bridge "Pont Alexandre III." This is an arch bridge that spans the Seine, connecting the Champs-Elysee quarter and the Invalides and Eiffel Tower quarter, regarded as the most ornate, extravagant bridge in Paris. It is named after Tsar Alexander III, who had concluded the Franco-Russian Alliance in 1892. At the center of the arches, Nymphs of the Seine with the arms of France correspond with the Numphs of the Neva with the arms of Imperial Russia on the other face. Nicholas II, Alexander the III's son and last Tzar of Russia, laid the foundation stone in October 1896. Trivia--in the movie "Anastasia" 1997, the bridge is damaged by Rasputin in an attempt to kill Anastasia, who in real life was the granddaughter of Alexander III. |