calling from some city...

Today was a day I was really looking forward too- we were going to the Palace of Versailles! As I’m sure those reading this blog have figured out by now, I LOVE palaces. The bigger and more extravagant and ridiculously over the top, the better. Therefore, Versailles was a place I absolutely had to visit on this trip.

We meant to get up at 8, but when that alarm went off it was way too early, so we slept until 8:45ish when we managed to drag ourselves out of bed. I’m still really sore from the canyoning- I can’t wait to treat myself to a massage when I get back home. Anyways we had our free breakfast at the hostel and then made sandwiches with ham and bread from the supermarket to pack for the day. We headed to Versailles. It took a little longer than I expected to get there because we had to use the metro, a bus, and then the RER train to get there. We arrived around 11 and got in the ticket line.

Here we had an unpleasant surprise. When Sara and Scott were researching museum passes and stuff yesterday, they were told by multiple people that Versailles was free today because it’s the first Sunday of the month. Thus, we decided to wait in the expected long lines because we could spend the whole day at Versailles, and it would save us the most money. However, when we got there, we found it was not free; in fact, it cost us 25 euro. That sucks because had we been told the proper information, we would have bought 4 day museum passes, instead of 2 day passes, which would have saved us money and time standing in line today. So that was frustrating.

But there was nothing we could do, so after about a 45 minute wait we bought our tickets. At least we will not have to pay any entrance fees the next 2 days, and we are planning on seeing so many sights that it will be worth it. Luckily, for me Versailles proved to be worth the very steep entrance fee. Also, while the Chateau was crowded, it was not as bad as I thought it would be, nor was the line as long. We got the combined ticket that allows you to visit the three main parts of Versailles: the Chateau, the Domain du Marie-Antoinette, and the Gardens.

Simply put, Versailles is amazing. Its impressive just walking up to the building- the gold plated doors just scream at you. The beginning rooms just contain many large portraits of guys I didn’t know, with walls covered by pretty tapestries. Not that interesting. But once we entered the Royal Apartment, I was immediately in heaven. Everything about the Chateau is just incredible- from the elaborate and bright paintings that span the entire ceilings, to the chandeliers, to the brightly colored tapestries and gold furnishing everywhere. I especially liked seeing the bed chambers of the King and Queen. A couple things jumped out at me- first, the beds were incredibly small. Second, it does seem a bit awkward that the King and Queen had their own bedrooms. They also weren’t that close to each other at all. But anyways, my favorite room might have been the Hall of Mirrors. This is a huge long hallway that has dozens of chandeliers hanging from the ceiling; there are gold statues and other furnishings everywhere, and it’s just an incredible sight to behold. I also liked seeing another long hall that had huge paintings that depicted French war history. The sheer size of these portraits was impressive, as was the number of them. Of course, the French have fought in a lot of wars. One of the final rooms is the 1830 room, which is dedicated to the first king in the Republic. Again, the decorations are so beautiful I can’t really accurately describe them. Luckily, I was able to take tons of photos- before my camera died.

The tour of the Chateau took about 2 hours, and then we ate our packed lunches out on the courtyard. Next, we entered the Royal Gardens. As soon as I saw the Gardens stretched out in front of me, my jaw literally dropped. It’s absolutely massive and incredibly impressive. To walk from the beginning of the gardens to the end of the Grand Canal (which is centrally located down the gardens, with extensive networks of trees on the side) takes an hour. So that gives you an idea of how far the Gardens stretch out in front of you. There are fountains placed throughout, and these went off at 3:30, just adding to the overall picture. It’s just an amazing sight to be standing at the top of the Gardens, looking out at the massive collection of trees, lawns, and water in front of you. There was also accordion music playing in the background; as Scott commented, this made us feel very royal. I could just picture myself taking casual strolls around the property every late afternoon.

Sara and I split up from Scott (as he did not want to wait for us to use the restroom) and we spent the next couple hours exploring the garden and visiting the domain du Marie-Antoinette. We visited her house and took comical pictures throughout. We also spend some time resting in the Temple of Love, though sadly after waiting 30 minutes for Scott to arrive, he failed to show. Typical man. Anyways there were other parts of her estate to explore, but we were tired and wanted to see the fountains. We walked back and rested with our feet in the water for a bit. We met back up with Scott and then decided, after 6 hours in Versailles, it was time to head back to Paris.

We were tired, but decided to go visit the Sacre Coeur quickly because it is very close to our hostel. The Sacre Coeur is a large church that sits at the top of a hill and offers a very pretty view of the entire city. The church itself is gorgeous from the outside, and very impressive as you stand at the base of the hill and look up at it. Along the slope of the hill, people were sitting down on the lawn, laughing, reading, talking, kissing, eating, drinking- just hanging out. We climbed the stairs to the top and quickly explored the church. It’s very white on the inside, with gorgeous paintings on the dome, ceilings, and walls. There was actually a Mass service on while we were there, so we kind of quickly went through the church. After admiring the view from the top for a while, we headed back to the hostel and then went to get dinner at a nearby restaurant.

Anyways, it’s late and we have a ton of places to visit on the agenda tomorrow. Can’t wait! I really love Paris so far.