Oct 30, 2016

Paris - Day 2

Another reason why I selected Paris, I had never been to Versailles.  All of my Paris trips have been relatively short for some reason.  I knew Sunday would be all about the palace and grounds.  There was a 60% chance of rain, but Sunday morning was beautiful.  After a banana and nutella crepe and a dr pepper for breakfast, I took the train ride out to Versailles.
 


 
It really didn't take me long to get through the cue (maybe 20 mins), but I would hate to see it in a busy summer month.








 
A model of the first building on the grounds, a hunting lodge.  This is a little different than the hunting lodges I saw growing up in the South.

 
The next expansion...



 
The ceilings were amazing.





 
And about that crowd, this was the view going into the Hall of Mirrors.  It was a little crowded, but I have seen worse at other tourist areas.

 
One of the disappointments was that most of the fountains were not constantly active, but who cares, the grounds were amazing and I definitely got my walking in for the day.







 
It was a beautiful fall day, but then the rain finally hit.  I took it all in stride.  Heck, I was in Paris.



 
Headed toward Marie Antoinette's house. 



 
The summer house on the same grounds.  When the government was moved to Versailles, a summer house had to be constructed to escape.  I need a summer house. 







 
Even with all the rain, I spent about 9 hours touring Versailles and enjoyed every minute of it.  I took a train back, dropped off my backpack and then set out for a dinner in Paris.  I didn't mean to, but I settled in at an Irish pub where I made friends with some Americans studying abroad and a couple from Ireland.  We all set around drinking and playing trivia until too late for someone that had a morning flight on Monday. 
 
But the travel was fine, I made my flight with plenty of time.  Even with the very limited sleep on the trip, I still didn't sleep on the flight home. 48 hours in Paris was a big success.  I spent less money than I would have going to the beach for a weekend and it will be a trip I remember forever.  And about turning 40?  I can hardly wait to see where I travel to in the next decade after all the great trips of the last decade.  As far as 40, it is just a number.  I am not sure some 20 year olds could keep up with me and the way I like to go. 


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Paris - Day 1

Yep, I really did this and it was an absolute blast.  I knew I didn't have to do the normal touristy bit since this would be my 4th trip to Paris.  I just selected a couple things that I had never done before.  It was a little chilly, 50s, but I didn't let that deter my fun.
 
I took off from Charlotte around 6.00 on Friday afternoon and landed in Paris at 8.30 their time Saturday morning.  Now the landing was something I had never experienced.  The sun was up, but about 10 mins before landing the pilot came on and said this would be a category 3 landing, auto pilot, because of the fog.  All electronics had to be completely off.  From the picture below, you can see why.  We are at the gate in that picture and there is a worker straight out from the engine.  When we landed, I really thought we were in the clouds still.  Oh well, after some research, it seems fairly common there.
 
 
But Paris was better after my train trip in.

 
While I waited to get my apartment, in the St Germain area, I took a stroll over to Notre Dame.  I am in awe every time I see it. 


 
To where I stayed.  It was a 5th floor former attic space, no elevator, but perfectly cozy for me.  Again, it was in the St Germain area also.


 
Sorry for the mess, but when I dropped off my luggage the cleaning crew had not been through.



 
One thing that I had never done was the Musee d' Orsay.  Why had I never done this, I don't know, because it was phenomenal.  It houses a lot of the Impressionist masters like Cezanne, Monet, Van Gogh, plus a great deal of sculptures, in a former train station on the Seine.  I really enjoyed this part of my trip.



 
Lunch with a view of Sacre Coeur in the distance.


 
A lot of Art Noveau stuff also.

 
I was tempted to go to the Rodin Museum again, but I got my fill here.






 
Pretty funny that the only time I saw the Eiffel Tower was from inside a museum.  The only time I saw the Arc de' Triomphe was from the plane.  Still not sure how there was a break in the fog for it.

 
The central hall.





 
The afternoon in Paris was absolutely gorgeous.  I loved just meandering around the river and doing whatever I felt like doing.  It was about a perfect autumn day.




 
Inevitably, I had to go back to Notre Dame and go in it.  After seeing it every time that I have been in Paris, I finally took the time to take the audio tour.  Their Saturday night service took place during my visit.  That brought back memories of my Midnight Easter mass that I went to several years ago.  The place and atmosphere gives me the chills.






 
After more strolling through shops and a late dinner, I had 5 flights of the below picture to navigate before I ended my Friday (It seems like I don't sleep on planes anymore.  Too many movies to watch I guess.)

 
What a great first day!


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