Versailles by Day, Paris by Night

Looking back at photos of this day, I remember it to be action-packed and full of exciting and beautiful things to see.  Given that I am writing this several months late, I am regretfully unable to recall every single detail about the rest of my days in Europe.  But the feelings I get when I think about it are still as strong as ever, keeping me coming back to write about my experiences.

Day 53:

We got up early to meet Joseph, Tim, and the rest of their travel buddies at the subway station.  I remember getting frustrated because Paris subway ticket machines only accept coins.. no bills!  We'd always have to ask places to exchange bills for coins..and the McDonald's next to our hotel made us purchase something in order to get coins.  Gotta admit though.. their breakfast buns were amaaazing.

Anyway, we finally made it to the connecting train station to Versailles!  Can't recall the train ride at all... but when we got there, there was a gigantic line in which we had to wait to enter the palace.  Eventually, we were able to get the silly listening gear to do a self-guided tour while listening to different facts about the palace..I kind of dislike those.  I never have the patience to really listen.  But just walking through and seeing everything was quite interesting..tacky furniture and wallpaper.  Eventually I got lost from Stella and Cherilyn and could barely enjoy the Hall of Mirrors knowing that my phone was being faulty and I could potentially be abandoned for hours.  Nonetheless I kept it cool and found one of Joseph's friends whom I followed around for the rest of the palace tour.  The group met up again outside and we proceeded to the garden portion of the palace..my favorite!  We barely ventured deeper into the garden, as it would probably take more than a full day.  A sandwich and ice cream hit the spot as we ate on the grass.  We also decided to watch the afternoon showing of the *special* weekend fountain show.  So we sat.  The water in the main fountain turned on.  We watched.  Uh..Nothing else?  What.  No music?  No lights?  I guess that's it.. Oh, you Frenchies.  Conclusion: Montjuic fountain in Barcelona outdoes the fountain at Versailles any day.

We said our goodbyes and headed back to Paris.  On our way home, we decided to continue our productivity and see more landmarks before the day was over.  First stop: Eiffel Tower.  It really is huge.    Tons of people.  Illegal vendors.   Eating.  Chatting.  Wedding photos being taken.  Loved the activity level.

   

Then we headed quickly to the Arc de Triomphe before the sun set.  We barely made it, but it was perfect timing.  The sunset was there.  Red sky.  Lights.  Cityscape.  Beautiful.  I speculated.  I sketched.  Photographed.  Loved it.  Gotta admit that was a moment I won't forget.

 

We headed down to walk along the Avenue des Champs-Élysées.  McDonald's spotted.  Burgers and fries ordered.  Hey, at least it was a pretty fancy and clean one!  Keepin' it classy..with what money we had to spend.

Last stop on the way back to the hotel: the LOUVRE at night!  I was dying to see the lights on, so we made a stop there.  And it was so worth the walk.  Photos make it self-explanatory.  And hah, I still remember that crazy man going around and talking to people.  Other than that, it was a super nice view that I'm glad I didn't miss.

I can't remember if this was the night that the bug incident happened.  But let's just say it was.  We had been closing our windows on the way out every morning, but the cleaning ladies would leave our windows open after cleaning.  Little green aphid looking insects would accumulate.. and one night, when we arrived home.. there were MILLIONS in our room!  The concierge was a total jerk about it too, not letting us switch rooms (even though we checked the website and there WERE open rooms that night!).  He didn't even offer a vacuum..but instead he offered the RAID.  I was so agitated.  We ended up using the hotel room's towels and squashing green guts all over the walls to get rid of as many as possible.  Then we threw the spoiled towels in the hallway and asked for new towels from the jerk concierge.  Haaaa.  But we still had to sleep with buggies...

DAY 53 OVER.