Paris, France, Day eight
Our last full day in France, and for our trip! We had planned to go to Versaille today, so we made our way to the train station and caught the regional train for the 25-minute ride. It was nice to get out of the city center for a little while, and we really noticed the change in smog levels!
We must have timed our trip badly, because the queue for tickets took forever, even though we were buying them away from the palace itself. Then the queue to actually enter was enormous as well. As we were leaving, neither of these queues were anything like what we waited in, but we’d already had plenty of practice waiting in line, so it wasn’t too bad - at least it was a nice sunny day.
The palace was great, with lots of history about Louis XIV, XV and XVI to learn about, as well as a bit about the revolution and Napoleon too. The Hall of Mirrors was a particular favourite. However, it was so crowded inside the palace that it wasn’t much fun, so we headed out into the gardens, which were just amazing. Louis XIV designed the palace and grounds to ensure that the court did everything but worry about politics (pretty much so he could do it all his way), and you could just imagine hundreds of courtiers and their retinues wandering the grounds, sitting by the canals and basically doing not much at all; all very politely mind you. The gardens stretch for kilometers and include smaller palaces where the kings and queens could retire to if things got too hectic at the big palace. Tough life.
We caught the train back into Paris and started packing our bags, sadly realising that the trip was nearly over. Despite my concerns, all of Katie’s shopping actually fitted easily into her pack!
Afterwards, we went out for a drink to do some people watching and to let Katie soak up the last of the European sun. Later, we had a nice dinner, then made our way one last time to the Eiffel Tower, sitting on the grass of the Champs du Mars and watching the tower sparkle, a fitting way to end our time in Paris. Simon
The gardens of Versaille stretching into the distance
Paris, France, Day 7!
Our apartment was across the road from Invalides, where Napoleon is buried. The huge building was where many of war wounded lived and Napoleon was eventually laid to rest. His body is in an impressive five coffins (ebony, mahogany, tin and two lead) and then in a massive quartz monument underneath the huge dome.
We then headed to Montmarte, a suburb in the 1st district, most famous for the huge basillica, Sacre Coeur, which is on top of Paris’ only hill. Before heading up the hill, I thought I would need a bit of energy so i gave the famous Nutella crépes a go. It’s great watching them being made before your eyes. Yes, they were great Lynelle, thanks for the tip! We then headed up the hill. It was covered in hawkers selling Paris souvenirs, alcohol etc. Trying to ignore them, we made it to the top to a wonderful view of Paris. As usual, the city was covered in a haze, but that’s the city we know and love! We also had a wander through the inside of the basillica.
On the hill is the gorgeous little area of Montmarte. It is all winding paths filled with cafés and artists doing people’s portraits. Some of them were really impressive! I did consider getting one done but wondered if it was really necessary since Simon wasn’t keen to be in it! Moving on, we made our way to Moulin Rouge, a ten minute walk from Sacre Coeur. There were no queues out the front (which we were warned about) so we went and grabbed some dinner before the show. It was a really nice evening and the colours from the sunset filled the air beautifully! Back at the Moulin Rouge, we wandered straight in. I figured being a Monday night it may not be as busy. Boy was I wrong! We got shown to our seats which were on a tiny table with two Aussies already seated. Another two people joined us which made it very squishy. I could hear lots of complaints about the seating… not good! The show was entertaining, great costumes but no story to follow. Unfortunately, it’s hard to see past the people in front and I was worried if the people behind could see past us! The two behind us left about half way through as they were too hot and they couldn’t see very well. Made it better for us to see, though, and they left half a bottle of champers for us to enjoy! We were packed in like sardines but it was entertaining overall. Maybe not the singing in English though!
I’m finally getting used to being called ‘Madame’ everywhere… so funny! At first I couldn’t work out why they weren’t calling me Madamoiselle… a ring will do it!
One day left in Paris… can’t believe it! Katie xo
Katie and one of her Nutella crepes for the day…
Simon at Sacre Coeur
Housewife in training (even on holidays) ;)
Napoleon’s Tomb
Paris, France, Day six
After shopping yesterday, we thought it was about time we headed to some museums for a bit of culture. We first went to Musée Rodin, which was quite close to where we are staying. This museum is mainly set in some beautiful (and surprisingly large) gardens, with Rodin’s sculptures scattered around the grounds. We saw his most famous work, ‘The Thinker’, but there were also a lot of other great pieces, including a very large piece that you could use a telescope nearby to look through at the detail.
The next stop was Musée d’Orsay, full of Impressionist works and set inside what used to be a train station. This meant the layout inside the museum was quite different and included a scale model of Paris set into the floor. It was amazing to be able to see so many great works here and the list reads like a roll call of great artists: Van Gogh, Monet, Cezanne and so on. We climbed out to the roof to look at the view, but unfortunately, the view from the back of the clock face was roped off.
We then had a quiche and delicious fresh raspberry tart for lunch and continued along the Seine to the Louvre. We skipped straight past all the queues with our museum pass and slipped straight into the museum under the big glass pyramid. Now this place has a lot of stuff! First up was the biggie: the Mona Lisa. It really is a charismatic painting and you could stare at it for ages. After previously hearing everyone’s surprise at how small it is, we may have been the only people there surprised by how big it is in reality! We then continued through the halls, passing by so many amazing paintings until we reached the Venus de Milo. It is a very strange feeling actually seeing these famous sculptures and paintings first-hand!
We’ll try to get back to the Louvre again before we leave, although I think you could spend weeks in there! Simon
Painting of some chick.. Hehe ;-)
