Crying, waiting, hoping
Please ignore the subject line; it's not a cry for help, but rather the title of a Buddy Holly cover that I have stuck in my head. (Also covered by the Beatles, but the Holly version is better. For the record I think the original version is by Carl Perkins.) But this has nothing to do with the trip and you all are bored to tears.
Yesterday we visited the lovely Versailles, including the palace that once housed Marie-Antionette and many different Louises. The palace was gigantic, but with the help of our trusty audioguides (free with the one-day pass bought at the Paris train station - thank you, Rick Steves), we found our way quite easily and enjoyed seeing the palace in all its splendor. The Hall of Mirrors was especially pretty, and me (the history nerd) enjoyed the fact that the treaty of Versailles was signed in that room.
However, while we were inside the palace, Colin whispered to me as he looked out the window, "this is daunting." He was so right. The grounds are IMMENSE. So much so that the map estimates that the time it takes to walk from the palace to the end of the Grand Canal at the end of the property is 60 minutes. We didn't go that far. We did walk around the gardens and down to Marie-Antionette's "domaine," which included a view at the presently-being-renovated Petit Trianon and her picturesque village behind it. The grounds were beautiful, but when it came to the trek back to the palace, Colin (bless him) decided to walk, and I decided to pay 3.50 euros to ride the tram, which, for those of you keeping track at home, is my second "stupid, arrogant American" thing I've done in Paris. (The first involved an italian restaurant, a hole in the ground and a 6 dollar can of Coke. Don't ask.)
We were pretty exhausted when we got back to Paris, but we decided that to close out the night we would go see the Eiffel Tower in all its splendor. I wanted to see it all sparkly, but Colin wanted to see it with only white light, and happily, we got there in time to experience both. We sat down for a moment underneath the base and looked at the time: 12:20 am! Our train stopped running at 1! We booked it backed to the station to wait for our first train that didn't come until after 1, leaving us stranded at the Madeline stop, pretty sure that the 12 train (our train to get home) had stopped running from the policeman and the giant, muzzled German Shepard blocking our path.
We dashed to the street only to find that buses had also stopped running, so being the savvy New Yorker I am (save your comments), I hailed a cab and we went for our first Parisian car ride up to Montmartre. We even passed the Opera house, which was cool. Bottom line is, we made it home safe and sound.
I'll leave today's events for Colin to tell you about in the morning or whenever, but a small preview: the Arc de Triomphe, Champs de Elysee, Dome Church, Concorde Square, the Opera House Garnier, more churches, and the Musee D'Orsay. I'm going to try to get out of here ASAP because there's an asian man, who I'm pretty sure is my new roommate, eating his dinner VERY loudly at the table next to me.
We still love your comments and we miss you all very much!
Love to all!!
Yesterday we visited the lovely Versailles, including the palace that once housed Marie-Antionette and many different Louises. The palace was gigantic, but with the help of our trusty audioguides (free with the one-day pass bought at the Paris train station - thank you, Rick Steves), we found our way quite easily and enjoyed seeing the palace in all its splendor. The Hall of Mirrors was especially pretty, and me (the history nerd) enjoyed the fact that the treaty of Versailles was signed in that room.
However, while we were inside the palace, Colin whispered to me as he looked out the window, "this is daunting." He was so right. The grounds are IMMENSE. So much so that the map estimates that the time it takes to walk from the palace to the end of the Grand Canal at the end of the property is 60 minutes. We didn't go that far. We did walk around the gardens and down to Marie-Antionette's "domaine," which included a view at the presently-being-renovated Petit Trianon and her picturesque village behind it. The grounds were beautiful, but when it came to the trek back to the palace, Colin (bless him) decided to walk, and I decided to pay 3.50 euros to ride the tram, which, for those of you keeping track at home, is my second "stupid, arrogant American" thing I've done in Paris. (The first involved an italian restaurant, a hole in the ground and a 6 dollar can of Coke. Don't ask.)
We were pretty exhausted when we got back to Paris, but we decided that to close out the night we would go see the Eiffel Tower in all its splendor. I wanted to see it all sparkly, but Colin wanted to see it with only white light, and happily, we got there in time to experience both. We sat down for a moment underneath the base and looked at the time: 12:20 am! Our train stopped running at 1! We booked it backed to the station to wait for our first train that didn't come until after 1, leaving us stranded at the Madeline stop, pretty sure that the 12 train (our train to get home) had stopped running from the policeman and the giant, muzzled German Shepard blocking our path.
We dashed to the street only to find that buses had also stopped running, so being the savvy New Yorker I am (save your comments), I hailed a cab and we went for our first Parisian car ride up to Montmartre. We even passed the Opera house, which was cool. Bottom line is, we made it home safe and sound.
I'll leave today's events for Colin to tell you about in the morning or whenever, but a small preview: the Arc de Triomphe, Champs de Elysee, Dome Church, Concorde Square, the Opera House Garnier, more churches, and the Musee D'Orsay. I'm going to try to get out of here ASAP because there's an asian man, who I'm pretty sure is my new roommate, eating his dinner VERY loudly at the table next to me.
We still love your comments and we miss you all very much!
Love to all!!
posted by Allison at
1:40 PM
4 Comments:
Ah Paris - for me, from a boulangerie- buy a baguette and then find some camembert and whatever you want to drink. And then find a friendly Tabac and try some Suchard Rochers - maybe my favorite candy in the whole world. Glad to hear you survived the Parisienne cabbies - I think they are the most suicidal of any in the world! I loved Versailles, but it was dustier than an equivalent American site (I thought) I miss all of you guys - love, PK
HI guys -- for me, buy a baguette and some camembert for lunch -- and whatever you want to drink --- what the french do well -- they do really well - and what they don't -- well, you know. Also, at any Tabac you can find some Suchard Rochers -- one of my favorite candies of all time. I'm guessing you survived the Parisian cabbies -- as a species I think they are the most suicidal of any cabbies in the world! Missing all of you guys - love, PK
That palace sounds fantastic. I would love to see it!
I'm glad you guys made it safely back to your hostel or what not!
Paris sounded amazing! I hope Germany offers you as much fun, if not more!
<3
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