We left the meeting place at 9:00 and hopped on a bus then a train to arrive at Versailles. But first, coffee. And a croissant. Because Paris. Had those two necessities across from the train station at a place called Brasserie Le Lyautey Glacier. Now say that five times fast.
But back to why we're here! The Palace of Versailles was beautiful looking, as expected. And the lines to get to it reflected that. But I was there for the famous and fabulous Gardens. I saw many glorious fountains and groves. All tied in on how Lous XIV wanted to be portrayed. The sun king! The divine monarch! It was just so surreal to be there. All the history. Amazing and I want to go back.
Met a guy named Judd (yes that's his real name and he is from Chicago). And he majored in Opera so we had a good chat back to the train station and the train ride before parting ways.
Next, lunch!
I stopped by a place that faced the Louvre and the river called Restaurant de Voltaire. Had an amazin cheese plate and wine. Afterwards, I followed the river to Notre Dame. I realized I would've have time to go into Notre Dame before it closed so I turned back around and walked all the way to the Eiffel Tower! Long walk, but fun to just look around and take it all in. I chose to walk up the Eiffel Tower. Pros: shorter line and cheaper. Cons: you had to climb A LOT of stairs. But no biggie, stairs are my specialty. Passed people going up that I never saw in the line, so that's a good feeling. It was amazing being up there. So beautiful. Who gets to see Paris from the Eiffel Tower?? Me!
Now as glorious as that was, I have a confession to make. Climbing the Duomo in Florence definitely spoiled me with the most breathtaking view. This was still a once in a lifetime opportunity and I am very grateful.
When I finally decided to head back down, I ran into two Australian women from the Gardens of Versailles tour! Small world. We chatted for a few minutes and the parted ways, me to dinner, them a taxi. I found a restaurant called Bistro de la Tour Eiffel and sat outside and really had a good time people watching and enjoying some great food. I stayed there for a couple of hours. I wandered for a bit before heading to the river and buying a ticket for a nighttime boat tour of Paris. My friend Ankit that I met in Barcelona said I HAD to experience this. I'm glad I listened. I got to see more from the boat ride than I could ever see on foot. Also, you see the different buildings you've seen before, but lit up! One building was lit up like the French flag!
The tour was for only an hour but it allowed me to find a perfect spot for when the Eiffel Tower flashed with lights at midnight.
Once again, who gets to do this??
No comments:
Post a Comment