Monday 19 May 2014

On Monday the 19th we caught the train to Versailles. The weather was absolutely perfect!
As we walked to the entrance, there are those boards that you put your face through so we did that. The face hole was very small though.




When we got to the palace entrance we noticed that the building was all shut up but didn’t really know why. So we followed everyone else around the back to the garden area. Wow the sight that greeted us! I left like I had stepped in to a painting.


We wandered through the mazes down towards the lake where people were in little rowboats. We decided that would be a fun idea and hired one as well. Sherrie rowed first, it took her a few minutes to get the hang of it but after that we were all good. Except when us and another boat were heading straight for each other and she –very politely- called out “excusez-moi” to get the other rowers attention, thus narrowly avoiding collision.



When we arrived in the cross section of the lake we ate some of our cherries and then it was my turn to row back. It was the hardest thing I have ever done and I was completely 100% bad at it. I just couldn’t get us to go straight or move in anywhere. (I blame the wind). I struggled for a while then Sherrie took over again. I felt so bad but was so grateful!



When we returned to shore we ate lunch at the restaurant just by the lake. I ordered French onion soup while Sherrie had a savoury crepe. The soup was AMAZING! It had cheese on top with bits of bread through it. SO GOOD!




After lunch we hired bicycles to ride around the ground. This was the best* idea we ever had. We saw so much of the grounds this way and also found out why the buildings were closed- it was a Monday. Cycling around the grounds was perfect we ended up lying in the grass at the opposite end of the lake for 20 minutes just appreciating life. I that afternoon was one of the best days of my life and the gardens are my favourite place in the whole world.





When we returned the bikes we bought sorbet and watched the giant ugly fish in the lake (for a really long time). Then we headed on home.

 ***

The next day was Sherrie’s birthday! Unfortunately, the weather was rainy and miserable. We had originally planned on spending the day at the Louvre however it was closed because it was a Tuesday. We learnt our lesson from yesterday and checked this time.

Instead of the Louvre we visited the Sacre Coeur in the morning and the Champs-Élysées and Arc de Triomphe in the afternoon.


The Sacre Coeur was nice but the view wasn’t overly great, partly because of the weather and partly because you couldn’t see the Eiffel Tower (our favourite tower of them all).  Plus there were a lot of men in groups harassing tourist as they walked up the stairs to the basilica – it was very intimidating.


We arrived at what I am calling the bottom of the Champs-Elysees, (because its at the bottom of the hill) the end with the amazing Abercrombie and Fitch store and walked towards the Arc.  We ended up doing the walk about 5 times that afternoon. As we walked up to the Arc, Sherrie noticed a seafood platter on the menu of a restaurant but it was a crazy amount of Euros – even for a birthday lunch in Paris. So we kept walking when she saw the best restaurant in the world, a restaurant devoted to mussels! I do love oysters more than mussels but this place was still heaven.


After lunch we continued our journey to the Arc. It’s only 6 € climb the spiral stairs to the top, so we did. The view was great- so much better than the Sacre Coeur- but I wish the weather was better.

 



When we went down again there was a lot of people in army, navy and air force uniform so we hung around to watch what was going on – plus the guys look well fit. I still don’t know what it was about other than an anniversary for something, we were filmed watching the ceremony so I hope I wasn’t pulling a I-have-no-clue-what-you-are-saying face.

After it was all over we stopped at H&M to buy some leggings and found fleece lined ones. They are like wearing a teddy bear!

We then went to the Eiffel Tower (it’s on our train line home) to get crepes and watch the twinkling lights.


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