Joyeux Anniversaire La Tour Eiffel! The Eiffel Tower celebrated its 120th birthday today by releasing more than a thousand balloons into the sky, giving joy to all the tourists who happened upon the iconic monument today. But when Gustave Eiffel's creation was first inaugurated in 1889, not everyone was in love with it. A few famous Parisians called it a "dishonor" to the city. Writer Guy de Maupassant said he liked to eat lunch at the tower because it was the one place where he didn't have to look at it.

What a change a 120 years makes. Today, nearly seven million tourists fork over the 13 Euro fee to visit the tower and one woman even married the structure. Let's hope she has a real special birthday present for tonight.

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· Eiffel Tower turns 120 [Associated Press] ]]> juliana 2009-05-19T17:47:26-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2009/5/5/13219/80808

This week Jaunted editor Juliana will be sharing her experiences from a recent field trip to Seattle where she wasn't afraid to do all the touristy things in town. Any questions or tips? Let us know.

After a trip to the Pike Place Market in Seattle, your next big touristy stop is the Space Needle. Inspired by the TV Tower in Stuttgart and built in 1962 for the World Fair, the Space Needle is practically what put Seattle on the map--in the days before Nirvana and Starbucks, of course.

Today the monument is open pretty much from 9am-11pm everyday. Tickets cost $16 for a ride up to the top for adults and if you plan on seeing any of the other Seattle museums or the Seattle Aquarium on your trip, you can buy a ticket package. (Word is, you really only see savings if you plan on going to three or more of these.)]]> juliana 2009-05-05T13:46:37-05:00 47.6203100 -122.34928 Search Jaunted string http://www.jaunted.com/search/