Paris! Part Deux.

Alright, on to Sunday!

After a fantastic sleep, (again, our bed at the hotel was so comfortable), we woke up with the plan to go to Versailles for the day. Made a quick pit stop at boulanger (bakery) around the corner. I could not resist the chocolate croissant that was calling my name, and Carlo went for his usual classic plain croissant (which was still warm! yum!). Made our way to the Metro to go to the RER, which is Paris' regional train essentially. This would take us straight to Versailles, so easy enough!

As soon as we arrived in the town of Versailles, we were a little concerned about the weather. Dark, ominous clouds pasted over while winds kicked up and rain was threatening. Neither of us was properly dressed for any type of 'weather', so we quickly got in line to get our tickets at a ticket outlet across from the train station. We opted to get our tickets there, from a third party instead of waiting in line at the palace itself, knowing that there was probably a mad house there (which we later confirmed to be true). This allowed us to get right in line at the entrance upon getting up to the palace.

Now, onto the palace. Can I just say Wow. I find it incredibly difficult to put into proper words the enormity, intricacy, and elegance that is the Palace of Versailles. Everything is large and over the top, and opulent,  shining with gold and leaving our imaginations to run wild with thoughts of what it would be like to be one of the kings, queens, princes, princesses, members of the court, servants, etc. who lived there and called this place 'home'. Every room was just as grand as the last as we meandered by the chapel (really it was it's own basilica withing the palace), through all the various apartments, all the halls, really it was amazing. We decided it was easiest to just have lunch at the palace, so when we stumbled upon one of the cafes, we ordered some sandwiches and macaroons.

Hall of Mirrors

Hall with huge paintings depicting France's History

Petit Trianon is in the background

After the couple of hours we spent on the inside of the palace, we knew we wanted and had to explore the gardens, but more importantly wanted to visit the Petit Trianon, and the Hameau de la reine. These subsidiary buildings were made famous because they were gifts from the King to Marie Antoinette to use as a retreat from royal life. The Petit Trianon itself is a charming manor of sorts, but of course with the finishes you would expect of a queen. The Hameau de la reine on the other hand, was this little village of farmhouses and actually houses a working farm, complete with a vineyard, dairy, animals, vegetable gardens, etc. Marie Antoinette would flea to her two story home there and help out on the farm, milking cows and helping in the gardens. It was purposely built to give the illusion of being in the countryside instead of in the confines of Versailles, and it certainly does that. When your in this area, you really feel like you are someplace else, a world away from royal court. While over in this area of the Versailles gardens, we also stumbled upon a Theater. The outside of the building was rather plain, but the door was open so we went inside, and to our surprise, it was a full on theater. The type with red velvet chairs, two stories, almost like a mini opera house. Amazing. We also visited the Grand Trianon while over in the area, which was a private home for the Kings' and their families, when they needed a retreat from the palace and life in the royal court.

The Queen's House in the
Hameau de la reine

By the time we were done touring all of that, we were tired and our feet had really started hurting from all the walking, but we decided to walk back to the grand canal and have a drink before exploring the rest of the gardens. A side note here- yes I said grand canal. One of the Kings actually built a grand canal in the shape of a cross in the gardens. Again, I can not justly express the shear enormity of the grounds and it's gardens. I guess a good indication is that it took us 30min to walk from the palace down and over to the Petit Trianon.

Again, the weather was still going back and forth and we were both kind of cold, so as soon as we finished our beverages, we headed out slowly making our way through the mazes of trees, bushes and fountains back up to the palace and eventually back to the train.  We decided if we had to sum up Versailles, the best way to do so is "Over the Top".

Looking from the back of the palace
down toward the Grand Canal

Grand Canal

Outdoor dancing hall
within the Gardens

Side Gardens

Once on the train we headed back to Paris, and to Le Cafe du Commerce, in area 15, right by the Eiffel Tower for dinner. We shared some French salami and duck pate for a starter, then I had chicken with a delicious sauce, and Carlo had a pork dish of some sort, and then we shared profiteroles with chocolate sauce. Good dinner, but we decided my dish was somewhat bland and I probably miss ordered. I think the fear of my previous lunch made me nervous, so I instantly went for a 'safe' dish.

Alright, so I lied, there is going to be a Part Trois since this post is also so long! Stay tuned!