The one where Marissa put her ticket in the wrong hole (Paris)

We definitely started our morning off right with a free breakfast of croissants and nutella with coffee and orange juice.  We also hid our buttered rolls in our bags to eat at lunch time.  We made our way to the Metro and bought our day passes, while also trying to figure out where we could buy a 2-day Museum pass that would let us get into all the sites we wanted to without paying anything more.  In the end, we connected through like 6 trains/metros before finally arriving at the right stop for the Palace of Versailles. 

Two side notes about the journey: First, on the way we had to buy special to and return tickets from city center to Palace of Versailles, so we disembarked from the train at the edge of city center and exited the metro to buy our tickets.  Masha bought all six tickets, and then we paid her back.  Masha and I put our tickets in and made it inside, and the next thing we know, “Guys, I think I put my ticket in the wrong hole…” Marissa had somehow put her ticket into a random crack instead of the ticket reader, losing it for all eternity! We almost died laughing, and Marissa had to buy a new ticket. Oops! Glad it wasn’t me for once. Second, I really enjoying having a conversation with other people who understand everything I say and who I don’t have to speak abnormally slowly and enunciated for.  We talked to this group of women on the metro about what we have been doing in Spain, and it was really nice.  I even gave a woman some tips for her middle-school aged daughter about what to do with her curly hair! I love Spanish- and French-speakers, but I really love me some English-speakers.

Hall of Mirrors

The Palace of Versailles and the gardens were amazing.  As much as they are superfluous and over-the-top unnecessary, they are awesome! And I wish that we had something like that in the States.  One of the things that seems to impress me the most is always the ceilings.  The paintings and designs that they put on the ceilings in these palaces are certainly something to behold.  My favorite place there was probably the Hall of Mirrors, which had me singing a song from ‘Anastasia.’ I also loved the hall of paintings from various battles.  There was one of the siege at Yorktown with George Washington which was a nice reminder of home. 

George Washington and the siege at Yorktown 1781

After, we hit up the Eiffel tower, which was neat, but mostly we went because you have to.  I was really glad we did because the obligatory pictures are awesome! We elected not to go up because we didn’t want to walk and we weren’t going to pay to take the elevator up.  Next we headed to the Musee d’Orsay which is an old railroad station that has been converted into an art gallery.  We saw some of Van Gogh’s paintings, which were really neat, though I really liked the awesome rail station clock and the miniature statue of liberty. 

Pont Neuf

Our last officially planned stop of the day was Notre Dame.  Awe-inspiring to say the least, and even better because it was over-looking the river.  We were going to go up in the bell towers, but the line was closed for the day.  Regardless, we took some very nice pictures and decided to come back.  On the way back home we decided to walk by Pont Neuf, which to us was the bridge from the Bourne Identity scene.  It was pretty epic, and became even more epic when I later read that it is the oldest bridge in Paris and an actual site (lol). It wasn’t just us; while we were there, some other American tourists were there to see the Bourne Identity bridge.

Sacre-Coeur

Our crepe God

The metro to our hotel overshot it a bit, so we went to Sacre-Coeur, a basilica very near our hotel.  It was extremely beautiful at sunset and we got some great pictures of the city from the top of the hill.  After a rest for our feet and our bodies, we headed out to find some dinner.  We all ate these amazing crepes, one Chicken and Cheese and one Nutella.  They were soooooo good, and I watched the cook’s technique, so with the right tools, I could totally replicate!  All in all, a Parisian-perfect day!!