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| The Gate to Versailles |
September 20th:
After a completely exhausting day, sleeping-in was something we were dreaming about. I have to say: it is essential to be completely and utterly exhausted to sleep well in Hostel where you have to rent sheets, press the button on the shower in order for (cold) water to come out every 30 seconds, and where 6 beds share 1 power outlet. However, sleeping in wasn’t an option today. We were told that lines at Chateau de Versailles could be quite ridiculous, and we didn’t want to waste our time in line at such an amazing place. So, as much as we hated it, we woke up at 6:45AM. We got ready quickly, and were the first ones to get our (free) breakfast of bread and jam, “cereal”, and un-refrigerated milk—which we prefer not to go near.  |
| Marie-Antoinette's Bedroom |
We grabbed our bags, and were off. We took the metro to a nearby train station, and took a 30 minute train to the outskirts of Paris. For someone who has never been very good with navigation (thank you Mom) I must say that Dee and I did an almost flawless job—with the help of some people who spoke un peu anglais. Next we hopped on a bus that seemed to take an eternity. We both kept drifting off, having no idea how far away we were. Apparently it was Dee’s turn to ask for help (we alternate) so she asked the bus driver if we were close. His was response was, “look ahead”. There it was. The morning was cool, but sunny, which made the gold almost blinding.
Going up the walkway, we saw the line, which snaked back and forth several times. I offered to go get the tickets, as Dee waited in the line. Luckily, it went very quickly and by the time I was back with the tickets Dee was almost to the front. I say luckily because of the extremely annoying people standing behind us. Apparently they had tried to cut the entire line, and fortunately (for them), they had not tried to cut Dee—that wouldn’t have been good. After making our way through airport style security—there we were again. The snobs behind us kept literally pushing us to get by, but seeing how Dee and I are both too competitive, we would not let that happen.
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| Me and Dee in the Hall of Mirrors |
We spent the next hour trying to enjoy royal rooms FILLED with tourists, cameras, and more tourists. As beautiful as the painted ceilings, and furnishings of Marie-Antionette’s bedroom were, it was hard to enjoy because we could barely get passed the thousands of people trying to take a picture of every doorknob, window, and corner of the palace. We took it all in (quickly), and made our way to the Hall of Mirrors. The reflection of people taking selfies was disturbing, but somehow we were able to enjoy it. We were definitely ready to be outside after an hour.
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| The tourist packed Hall of Mirrors |
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| Lunch under the Eiffel Tower |
The gardens were beautiful. We could have wondered around for hours, but were both getting hungry and were overwhelmed by the number of people. We took an uneventful train/bus/metro back to the hostel, left a few things there and then hit the supermarche. We didn’t feel like paying lots for lunch so we settled for a picnic. We grabbed food from the store and bread from a local bakery, and made our way to the Eiffel Tower. We spent the next two hours eating (baguette, some delicious cheesey/herby spread, grapes, and pistachios) and napping under the glorious shade of the tower. 
Reluctantly, we finally made our way to the Eiffel Tower entrance. I had bought tickets ahead of time so we wouldn’t have to wait in the monstrous line. Unfortunately, I had bought 4 extra tickets because I kept hitting “purchase” when it didn’t bring me to the confirmation page… typical me. We easily sold the extra tickets to two couples, and made friends with one of them. A lovely couple from Chicago on a romantic getaway for her 40th birthday… we tried to explain our situation, but they probably thought we were also there to enjoy the City of Love together. Classic.
When we reached the second floor, which was still a little too high for me (got that from you, Dad), the clouds began to roll in. We got a few pictures in, and then watched as the clouds moved closer and closer. Sheets of rain poured from the sky, but we were determined to go to the top of the tower. We waited in yet another line for the elevator to the top. Dee was literally squeezing cups of water from her skirt, and I had chosen to wear see-through-when-wet shorts, we were quite a sight. We were freezing, but it was worth it. When we finally reached the top, we walked around, took a few pictures, and took the elevator down to the bottom. Walking back was not an option, considering we were frozen to the bone, so we hopped in a cab.
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| Dee and I on top of the Eiffel Tower |
After picking up the same thing for dinner that we had for lunch and grabbing some wine (Chilean—classy, right?), we made our way to the hostel. Tonight we had decided we would go out, so we showered, and slowly got ready while munching on our picnic, sipping our wine, and listening to obnoxious music. We had an incredible time dancing the night away and we definitely made the best of our night out in Paris.
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