Eiffel Tower souvenirs
 

If you visit the Eiffel Tower in the coming days, you should see fewer of the Senegalese vendors all over the place. There was a police raid on June 29th to try to clear them out. The police also raided the souvenir warehouse run by the Chinese and the housing of the vendors.

If ever you wonder what those little Eiffel Towers are worth compared to the price for which they are being sold, the article I read said that a bag of 50 of them costs 5 euros.

Meanwhile, it is normal to pay a bit more in the shops selling the same items, because the ones in the shops have generally been legally imported and taxed.

I bought 2 of them when I was in Paris.

They were a trinket for my young nieces, they hooked them on their school bag. Can't remember what I paid maybe 2 for 1 euro.

Somebody brought one of those smaller towers back from Paris in the 1950's and gave it to me..I still have it and I love it. I just wish they had brought back one of the more grandiose ones but you can't have everything I guess.

When I was little, we had an Eiffel Tower at home (about 30 cm) that I loved as well. I wonder when it was disposed of? (Or perhaps my father took it during the divorce...?)

Not exactly the Lavender Hill Mob . . .

I bought one when I took my daughter to Europe in 1998 from a vendor on the street. I don't recall if he was anything other than French. It's perhaps 8 inches tall and I don't recall what I paid for it, perhaps $5 US at that time. As dorky as it seems, I smile every time I see it sitting in our curio cabinet as it reminds me of the fun we had while we were there. It's not worth much $ but it's priceless to me. Isn't that what souveniers are all about?

Those guys are pretty aggressive. I disliked walking there, especially at night. I'm glad they are gone and hope hey stay that way.

Good to hear since I really hate the harassment of those vendors.

As for souvenir memories...My friend brought me back a clear glass Eiffel Tower filled with pink-colored, horrid-smelling perfume when I was in the sixth grade. I loved it and kept it on my dresser until I went to college.

They still sell those things, also ones with cheap rotgut cognac in them.

Rotut??? LOL I always bring those back to my 95 year old neighbor because he gets our mail for us while we are gone. Last year he requestd Calvados.

My son secretly bought me a little metal Eiffel Tower when we we all in Paris together in the 1990's. It's been on my dressingtable ever since but is no longer 'gold' - maybe I should polish it with Brasso?

I remember so vividly the police running after the vendors and chasing them over the ornate Pont Alexander bridge.
I even mentioned it my trip report.
I know they are pesky, but felt a bit sorry for them.
After all they weren't peddling drugs, stealing from tourists or doing 'crime' as its termed.
Maybe its because I'm from Africa and see it all day everyday.
Now that we are 'liberated' the notion of getting permission to start any kind of business anywhere anytime is over.
Shoe repairs merchants, hairdresser & barbers, World Cup paraphanalia sellers, vegetable vendors etc. etc. can set up anywhere along a sidewalk or stretch of road and earn their family a living.
I will say this - most of them are Zimbabweans, Nigerians, and all points North of us.

I also feel sorry for them. I loved haggling with them over the price of my souvenirs. I never felt pressured and who cares what the actual item is actually "worth" dollar wise, I ended up getting them for a good price and a good memory to boot.

I bought small ones, strung them with red ribbon added a small red ball and put them on my Christms tree.

I have nothing against the African vendors either. They are far more exploited than any of the tourists or their "employers."

Everybody has to make a living. Tonight I took the metro from the Champs Elysées and was surrounded by gypsy girls returning from their day of work ("begging"). They were all chirpy and happy about work being finished. Two of them were still wearing their long dresses and scarves, and the other two were in tight jeans and t-shirts.

I have a lot more indulgence for these girls (at least the ones who are not pickpockets) since I started talking to "my" gypsy who sits in front of my building every day. She saw me with my camera once and asked me for a photo session. I obliged -- more than once -- and happily printed numerous photos of her and her baby for her to take back to Romania. For the photos, she takes off her scarf and fluffs her hair, tugs on her t-shirt to display her tits as well as possible, and smiles so that her gold teeth will be visible. Last time, she posed lasciviously on top of a motorcycle.

I am happy to take photos of her for distribution in the home country. She even got the Chinese florist to take a picture of the two of us (God knows what she says about that: "Here I am with my Parisian Sugar Daddy!")

Just look at these vendors and other "annoyances" as people trying to make a living and advance themselves on the planet. That's all they're doing, and they have it much harder than we do.

I bought a little Eiffel Tower years ago at Galeries Lafayette, and it has been on our Christmas tree every year since.

I don't remember what I paid for it, but the charge was in francs and not euros.

Byrd

If you wear your Prada sunglasses and wave away the Eiffel Tower vendors like you are Queen Wilhelmina boarding the royal yacht, they usually leave you alone.

Thin

some of u are mean! these vendors are people too! thin is not mean.

>thin is not mean<

Oh, sweetie, the Philadelphia Police Department and the clerks at my local liquor store would soooooooo disagree with you.

Thin

I have bought an Eiffel Tower magnet for the cashier at my Walgreens. That was the only one she lost on an extended trip to Europe. But a year ago I group I belong to had a GTG and one of the ladies brought us all Eiffel Tower pins that sparkle. We all had a good laugh over it. And this year we are meeting again in Paris and wearing our pins!

Love the idea of turning those into Xmas ornaments. Thanks for the tip! (DH will say, "What the heck are you buying all those things for?) Then I can show my support for the vendors who might otherwise be pickpockets, too.

Sap, I have been told they are either pickpockets or distractions for pickpockets. Have no way of knowing if that is true though.

The Senegalese vendors are far too busy trying to sell their wares to also pickpocket the customer. Suzanne2, can you give the name of the person who told you this amazing information?

I have no idea who said it. I just remember being told that years ago and it stuck in my mind and caused me to be wary of them ever since. I think it was along the lines of while you are haggling with the vendor or getting your money out, or whatever, someone else picks your pockets.

I realize it is probably hogwash like so many things that get started along these lines.

I did purchase one of those light up sparkling Eiffel Towers (from the gift shop). My grandson loves it.

When I was in Paris briefly a few years ago, we haggled with the first vendor then waved our souvenir at the others who approached us.

This visit (I'm in Paris now) we found Eiffel Tower cheese graters and keychain bottle openers at Pylones (Isle St. Louis) and Eiffel Tower cookie cutters at E. Dehilleron (near Les Halles)

No, no. What I meant was that the vendors are doing a job INSTEAD of pickpocketing and should thus be supported for being honest workers.

How does that explain the police raid? I know they crack down on folks selling things like knockoff handbags.

The police raid is because these are undocumented aliens selling illegally imported goods. Nothing to do with pickpocketing.

Kerouac, I enjoyed your story of "your gypsy". You are such an interesting person.

Let me see if I can find some of the pictures of her...

She is at #15 and #27 of this link:
http://www.anyportinastorm.proboards...ay&thread=2710

why stereotype a whole group of humans most of whom could could do better than us if they only had our upbringing?

I loved seeing those picture. They are both adorable. These folks are not so different afterall. I hope that little guy has recovered. I always wonder how they get the children to sit quietly with them all day. I know my kids would never sit in one spot for more than a few minutes.

I definitely think one of the photos of her (wearing a sweater) has the makings of a Mona Lisa. The look in her eyes - and she has the faintest hint of a smile around the corners of the mouth.

After reading a recent Fodor's post referencing "Paris, j'taime", I went to the IMDb to read the movie's plot summary. At one point, mention was made of "a reappearing mysterious character who is a witness to the Parisian life." I instantly thought: That's our kerouac!

In May we were walking along Quai Branly when the souvenir vendors packed up, almost in unison, and all ran in the same direction toward Pont d'Iena. They all seem to have spread out their wares on blanket-like cloths with rope handles at two ends, allowing them to pick them up quickly, with the items safely inside, and run at a moment's notice. As soon as they started to move, we saw two teams of police walking toward the Quai. I did not realize that the vendors were likely to be illegal--I thought they were probably from North African former colonies that allowed them entry to France--but assumed they were chased away because they had no business permits and were unfair competition to legitimate merchants.

2 weeks ago I bought a foot tall metal Eiffel Tower at Cost Plus Imports & am using it as a doorstop.

She sure looks different without the layers of clothes. She is really pretty and the photos are very touching. She is just a young girl herself.

She reminds me of the gypsy girl I spoke with in Moscow. I was waiting outside my hotel and she was begging nearby and came and sat near me to rest a bit. I started the conversation and was also truly touched by her, she spoke nearly perfect English and we chatted for about an hour until an older woman angrily called her back out to the street. I still remember her sweet face and her lot in life and I wonder what she is doing now 10 years later.

The more clothing she removed, the younger she became. I think she is very young. She has given me food in the past (canned goods that she didn't want!) and she also gave me a motorcycle decal decoration kit to thank me for the photos printed. (Stolen? Found?) How many gypsy beggars do you know who give you presents? :) Yes, I regularly give her a few coins and sometimes a luncheon voucher, but at the same time, I refuse to pay a toll for going home!

Hey, do any of you need a motorcycle decal decoration kit?

she seems to be more generous than some of us!

After reading a post on TA I realized that perhaps it was not the vendors at the EF tower that were making me feel uncomfortable.

I just read a TA post in which the poster described how she was mugged outside the Basilique St Denis by "3 young black men." Although this was a horrible incident, and I really felt for the poster, I could not agree with her conclusion that "The dead kings of France live among animals." That was way too ironic for me--the dead kings of France never committed horribly violent crimes? Wars? Cruel and unusual punishments? Oppression? The African vendors are chased off, but American financial CEO's are bailed out. The sorrows of Empire, yes?