Tuesday, June 22, 2010

Paris, Day Four

By Natalie

Today we took the RER and Subway to Versailles. What a mind-blowing place. Started with a quick dash through "Dauphin's Chambers" and followed that with with a guided tour of the King's personal chambers and the chapel. We were supposed to see the opera house, but the chapel was a back up when the electricity failed! Ryan says our tour guide reminded him of an older version of Bruce Willis' girlfriend from Pulp Fiction.





After we finished in the Castle, we walked the grounds; I didn't realize how big and grand they are! We had ten-minute rain showers on a roughly forty minute rotation, which actually worked out for the best - there were less crowds, cooler temperatures, and a very romantic atmosphere. We had a great view of boats on the water, illuminated by sun showers and hazy skies. When we were exploring, we stumbled upon a tiny outdoor cafe hidden in the bushes. We stopped for a glass of chilled red wine and a chocolate crepe. There were cute cats roaming the courtyard, but they were pretty much our only company - the threat of rain kept most of the other visitors safely indoors.



We then headed back to the 1st arrondissement and hit the "big three" in the Louvre; Winged Victory, Venus de Milo, and the Mona Lisa. Checked out the Egyptian exhibit too.

We got back to our apartment around 7PM, had amazing falafel for dinner in Le Marais at a place called L'As du Falafel. It was a marathon day!

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