Paris and a Birthday in Versailles

From Offenburg I took a train connecting through Strasbourg to Paris on Thursday, June 13. There happened to be a national railway worker's strike going on in France which had started the night before and was scheduled to end the next morning. It doesn't make sense to me to have an end date to a strike, but that's what I was told. Regardless, I was still able to make it through. I had been having a lot of luck this trip, between making this train and the train to Munich as well as how nice the weather was in Germany.

In Paris I met up with Rachel and Emily, friends from Madison. They were beginning their own trip in Europe and we knew our paths would cross here so we booked a hostel for two days. The two days went quickly but were enough for Paris. It is a beautiful city but is also very expensive. Also, I don't speak French and they speak little English.

Emily and Rachel

The first day we fit in the majority of Paris' most touristy attractions. After breakfast it was off to the Notre Dame Cathedral. Then, more sightseeing around St. Louis island. We spent about three hours in the Louvre, which was about enough although we managed just half of the museum. The Mono Lisa was actually easy to get to; I learned a little more about why she is famous, but I still think she is a bit over-hyped relative to the rest of the amazing art in the Louvre.

La Seine

Outside Notre Dame

Inside Notre Dame

Statue outside Notre Dame

Another view of Notre Dame

  

A Paris Courthouse

Outside the Louvre

The (small) Mona Lisa

Crown Collection in the Louvre

Lastly we took a couple hours to climb the first two levels of the Eiffel Tower. From far away I decided that it is really quite an ugly building; it's more like a skeleton of a building, as though construction had been halted prematurely. Up close, however, I learned to appreciate it more for just how massive it is. It certainly was a better choice than some of the other designs proposed for the World Fair.

Getting close to the Eiffel Tower

Closer to the Eiffel Tower

Right next to it!

Under the tower... okay, this is massive!

Climbing up the stairs of the Eiffel Tower

A view of the lawn leading up to the Eiffel Tower, taken from the first level

A view of the city from the second level

Another view of the city

Arc de Triumphe

Sacro Cuore Cathedral

Another view of the city, from the top of the hill on which Sacro Cuore sits

After a nice late dinner with just a little wine, it was time to rest up at a reasonable hour for a busy Saturday.

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Versailles

Well, I don't know what the ideal birthday would be, but spending it at a palace is not bad! It took about an hour and a half to get to Versailles from our hostel, but we still had time for 7-8 hours at the palace. The place really does embody the word magnificent. From the gold trim around the front to the hall of mirrors to the acres of manicured gardens, every inch spoke of grandeur. It is possibly even overdone; I think the palace could have done well with a little less for the sake of contrast. I cannot imagine living in there, although 40,000 people used to.

The front of Chateau de Versailles

The Hall of Mirrors

A view of the imperial gardens behind the palace

The courtyard behind the palace

In the gardens we checked out Marie Antoinette's 'village' she used to get away from court life. Also, we saw the village's farm followed by some fountain shows in the gardens.

A view of the backside of the palace

One of the many statues in the garden

To round out the day we enjoyed some wine and chocolate I had brought form Baden-Würtemburg by a monument in the city. It was a pretty excellent birthday! It certainly beats my 11th birthday, when I got stuck in an airplane bathroom going from Amsterdam to Athens... but that's another story.