Paris Palooza - Day 2

Happy Paris Palooza day two! Today's adventure was probably one my favorites: A trip to Versailles Palace, home of the late Marie Antoinette, queen of France, obsession of mine! We all met up in the morning to grab a quick cup of coffee, and then we went to the metro to catch an RER train that would take us to Versailles where we would find the Palace of Versailles. After about an hour train ride of chit chatting, we finally made it to Versailles, where we were greeted by a flood of tourists, grey skies, and a downpour of drizzle. Not exactly the brightest and happiest day, but I was not going to let anything ruin my Versailles adventure! We walked through town and made our way up to the grand palace, it's gold-trimmed windows and rooftops shining in the distance. We finally reached the great golden gates, and after seeing the mile-long line of tourists waiting to get inside the palace, we decided to explore the gardens first. My oh my, these gardens were absolutely stunning! They literally stretched out as far as the eye could see, with stone staircases and cascading fountains dotting the landscape every here and there, resting in the shade of grand oak trees that towered over flowerbeds and grand statues. I couldn't help but imagine what it was like, way back in the day, for the lords and ladies of the French royal court to wake up and step outside to such a gorgeous garden. I don't understand how Marie Antoinette could complain about her head getting cut off when she had a garden like this in her backyard for most of her life. And she was a queen that got to eat delicious little cakes all day…but I digress. Anyway, we continued our journey through the twisting and turning gardens and found our way to the King's Garden, a nice little patch of gardens and trees, fenced in by a little wooden fence covered in flowering vines. Since the gardens were so huge, we were alone there without the noises and "ooh"s and "ahh"s of other tourists, and it was just so peaceful and tranquil. I found myself walking to and fro, admiring the nature and the tranquility under a gentle fall of rain and the sound of thunder rumbling in the distance. As the skies grew darker and as the rain grew heavier, we decided to trek our way back to the front of the palace, join the mile-long line, and shiver together under Natasha's umbrella, waiting to enter the grand palace. After what seemed like an eternity of playing twenty questions and confusing the German-speaking and Chinese-speaking tourists on either side of us, we finally got to the front of the line and entered the Palace of Versailles. Another dream of mine coming true right before my eyes, stepping from gold-trimmed room to gold-trimmed room, admiring all of the silk curtains and sky-high mirrors, diamond-studded chandeliers and velvet-draped beds, imagining the lives of the royalty as these grand and noble things were just part of their daily lives. I stared into the roped-off cathedral, seeing all of the marble pillars and gold-trimmed altars, imagining Marie Antoinette's wedding, imagining how gorgeous of a ceremony it must have been. As I stepped into Marie Antoinette's room, I was in awe. It was such a royal chamber, fit for a queen. Everything she owned - from her bedspread to her wallpaper - seemed to have a delicate floral pattern that danced in the light of the grand chandelier. Next to her room was an even more impressive sight: The Hall of Mirrors, always my favorite part of Versailles. A grand hall that stretched for what seemed like forever, with mirrors covering one wall, and windows covering the other. Whether I was staring outside at the gardens and fountains or staring at the reflections of golden statues, I was in awe everywhere I looked. There was just something so magical about this room that I can't describe. What I do know for sure is that it will always have a special place in my heart and in my dreams. =) We continued to weave our way through tour groups upon tour groups, fighting to make a path, sometimes even struggling just the breath, and we eventually made our way to the end of the visit. While others visited the restroom or waited by the exit, I explored my favorite part of the tour - THE GIFT SHOP. I fancied myself to some postcards and bookmarks that featured the Hall of Mirrors, and I was a content little Frenchie-American-Tourist! We stepped back outside and admired the outside of the palace up close and personal, and took some time to take some pictures of ourselves standing in ankle-deep puddles in front of the palace. Soaked feet and wet socks mean nothing when you're at Versailles. Sorry, rain, but you won't rain down on my Versailles-parade! We walked back into town, with me stopping every now and then to look back at the palace, Rose from the Titanic screaming "I'll never let go!" in my head, and we found a nice little restaurant where we sat down to enjoy a quick croque-monsieur and coca-cola lunch. From there we made our way through some tourist shops, and then we went back to the train station and caught an RER and made our way back to the city of Paris. We got off at a station near the bridge Pont Alexandre III, which we crossed and took plenty of pictures standing next to the golden-trimmed rails of the bridge with the Eiffel Tower in the background. It was a very impressive bridge with golden flowers sprouting from the metal rails, and golden statues guarding each end of the bridge. I also saw a bride and a groom having their wedding photos taken, and I may have snuck in a few pictures of my own - so romantic. From the bridge, we headed to Les Invalides where Napoleon is buried. We toured around Les Invalides and looked at all of the cannons and weapons they had on display, and it was really interesting - even more up-close-and-personal experience with more things I learned in history class! After visiting Les Invalides, we walked a bit and found a metro station and made our way to the grand ol' Notre Dame de Paris. Like yesterday at Sacré Coeur, there was a mass taking place inside of Notre Dame, which was just as impressive as it was in Sacré Coeur, if not more. It definitely was busier than Sacré Coeur! And just like yesterday, I was really able to take a moment and let reality sink in, and realize just how important of a place this cathedral is to so many people today, and to so many people in the past. I was standing in years upon years of history! After exploring the inside of Notre Dame, we made our way across the bridge and did some in-town shopping, and then we found a quaint little restaurant where we sat down both to eat dinner and to escape the rain outside. I fancied myself to a delicious dinner that consisted of a cheese crêpe, roasted chicken, and a sugar crêpe for dessert. And all of that only cost about 10 Euro - I was very content with this dinner! After enjoying dinner, we decided to call it a night, and started our search for a metro station, when we came across a group of dancers that were break dancing in the street, and clearly drawing a crowd, which included us.  We watched them for at least half an hour, and even a kid from the audience just jumped in and joined them. Seriously, some eight year old kid just jumped in, and started break dancing, even better than them! I was really impressed by him! After their little show, they walked around with their hats asking for money, and I dropped some coins in one of their hats. Their show was just too good to ignore! As the crowd dispersed, we eventually found a nearby metro stop and made our ways back home. Once we arrived at Gare du Nord, we decided to go out for a quick glass of wine before heading back to the hotel, and there we sat under the stars of Paris, sipping our glasses of wine and discussing the dream city that is Paris. After polishing off our glasses of wine, we all went back to our hotel rooms, and Natasha, Paige and I spent the night talking, sharing jokes, and sharing laughs until we all drifted off to sleep, awaiting another great day of Paris adventures.