kerouac

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.

aussie_10

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.

Dukey

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.

kerouac

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...?)

Fra_Diavolo

Not exactly the Lavender Hill Mob . . .

pauljagman

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?

Suzanne2

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

hausfrau

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.

kerouac

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

Suzanne2

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.

tod

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.

britomart

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.

CarolJean

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

kerouac

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.

Byrd

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

ThinGorjus

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

scubes

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

ThinGorjus

>thin is not mean<

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

Thin

avalon

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!

sap

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.