Nobal Glomad

I can’t help it. I feel the need to art direct at major tourist attractions… “Have you thought of shooting it off-centre?”, “Yes I know you don’t know me but have you looked at the positioning of the sun?”, “Denim minis are pretty but may I suggest the closing of her legs?”, “Absolutely… soft focus is amazing”. As I gazed upwards at the tonnes of elegantly formed steel that form La Tour Eiffel all I could think of were the thousands of thoughtless snaps taken every day at Paris’ number uno (why Italian?) attraction – the camera points, the button’s clicked and the image filed straight into the ‘I’ll never look at this again’ folder.

Then there’s the tossers like me who think they’ve got something different, something special on offer that can really give the shot that je ne sais quoi. Maybe I’ll lie down, hold the camera in my not normal hand, clench my buttocks and remove the privacy of my Pradas… it’ll be amazing… self-timer for added stability, super high apertures for pin-pointed crispiness? I’m turning myself on.

Beyond the snapshot though lies a mostly useless yet extremely charming landmark. The Tower stands perfectly proportioned, boldly making her mark against the height controlled Parisian cityscape. Stroll down Parc du Champ de Mars, perhaps the most obvious view-point yes but it offers a symmetrical and welcoming soak-it-up view.

Once you’ve enjoyed the ‘Crazy… I’m holding the tower in my hand’ photo show, pop into Quai Branly for some fabulously curated non-Western mask-wear and couture. Being Australian it’s embarrassing to realise Paris has one of the finest and most refreshing collections of Aboriginal art available in a public viewing space. Australia is more than capable of presenting to the world the perfectly choreographed Corroboree to open an Olympic Games, day-to-day however the relevance and awareness of our nation’s indigenous history is a sadly neglected affair. There I said it. Australia’s acknowledgement of our cultural heritage sucks.

Anyways… some top 10 attractions are there because they should be. Don’t miss this elegant beauty.