Thames versus Seine

I had lunch in Paris last week - such a pleasure. An effortless and efficient journey on Eurostar followed by a short stroll around the Ile St Louis before a leisurely lunch at a restaurant on Place Dauphine at the far end of the Ile de la Cite. It was such a lovely day that rather than heading then for one of my pre-selected galleries, we opted to spend the short afternoon on a lazy Seine sightseeing cruise. But I couldn't quite agree with my friend's claim that "the Seine is so much more beautiful than the Thames". And having zipped up the Thames this Sunday, from the 02 at North Greenwich to Embankment, I'm now certain. Admittedly the busy atmosphere of a scheduled Thames Clipper service may not quite compare to the romantic floatiness of a Bateau Mouche cruise, and the Seine does have some fabulously ornate bridges, but the Thames is incomparably bulging with life, both past and present. And it's been years since I'd seen the Tour Eiffel close up - from a distance I love its fretted metalwork but up close from the river it's positively brutal. As opposed to the elegant curves of our London Eye, also seen both from afar and close up this weekend. And I read that the operator Merlin plans to refurbish all of the 32 capsules, removing one at a time, between now and 2012 so that it should require no major maintenance for the next 15-20 years. I wonder if it will last as long as the Eiffel Tower?