Near the east end of the Champs-Elysees, under the gas light and beneath
the trees, they found open-air theaters, concerts, crowded cafes, and
pretty booths supplied with sweets and drinks. Every afternoon if the
weather is favorable, tastefully dressed children appear in charge of
nursemaids in white caps and aprons, and together they make picturesque
groups in the shade of elm and lime trees.
At breakfast, Leo proposed a study of Paris, as seen from the Arc de
Triomphe de l'Etoile, so named from the star formed by a dozen avenues
which radiate from it. The location is at the west end of the Avenue des
Champs-Elysees. This monument is one of the finest ever built by any
nation for its defenders. It is 160 feet in height, 145 in width, was
begun in 1806 by Napoleon and completed thirty years afterwards by Louis
Philippe. Figures and reliefs on the arch represent important events in
Napoleon's campaigns. Arriving at the arch, Leo led the way up a spiral
staircase, 261 steps to the platform above which commands fine views of
Paris.
The Champs-Elysees, a boulevard one thousand feet in width, extends east
over a mile from the monument of the Place de la Concord. Handsome
buildings flank the sides, and much of the open space is shaded with elm
and lime trees.
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