Versailles

September 23rd

Today we were going to visit the palace and gardens at Versailles, a small town about 30km away from Paris.  We took the metro to the train station where we bought our tickets for the train and also Versailles as to avoid the lines once we arrived.  The metro in Paris connects to 4 separate train stations that allow direct access to the rest of the country and Europe.

We asked a Parisian about which train we should take to Versailles and he pointed us in the right direction.  I found the stereotype of the French being rude untrue, as everyone I asked helped me the best they could.  We moved out of the city center and passed the sister Statue of Liberty.  We weren't sure what stop to get off on, but I heard Spanish from the seat behind us and I asked the group of middle-age couples what stop we should use.  They too were very helpful and told us the right stop.  I had been really excited to hear Spanish as I could finally talk to someone without miming out my questions.  Its funny when a second language becomes the only way to communicate.

Walking 5 minutes from the train station, we arrived at the Chateau de Versailles.  I could immediately tell that this was the epitome of royalty.  Since we had bought our tickets at the train station we didn't have to wait in the 2 hour line for tickets and met up with our friends from Granada.  We decided to tour the gardens, the Grand Trianon, and Marie Antoinette's palace before touring the main palace of Versailles.

The gardens were absolutely amazing with spanning paths and canals.  We went to the Grand Trianon, the converted hunting lodge of Louis XIV, and then to Marie Antoinette's private residence.  Both places were stunning and examples of tremendous power of the past.  We then wandered the gardens back to take a tour of the main palace.

The palace of Versailles was incredible, with ornate furnishings and thousands of paintings covering every inch of the walls.  The weird thing though was the modern art exhibit that was throughout the grounds and rooms.  Jeff Koons, a contemporary artist, had somehow managed to have all of his work placed throughout the palace.  I didn't like it and thought it was obnoxious and completely out of place.  The two most striking rooms were the Hall of Mirrors and the room dedicated to Napoleon.

I cooked another dinner with Rochelle and Emily and then went out to meet up with Ella and the other UC Paris kids.