Versailles and around Paris

1/11/18
Spent the morning having breakfast at the hotel and walking around the cute cobblestone streets around the hotel.  About 2 blocks away was Rue Le Cler where lots of open air markets, boutiques, and restaurants.  I especially loved the patisseries (bakeries). 

Rue Le Cler

Back at the hotel, we decided Day 2 would be a trip to Versailles, the palace of King Louis XIV and Marie Antoinette. All I can say is WOW! We called our taxi (we made friends with Christopher, our driver, yesterday), and drove for about 40 minutes southwest of Paris to the palace.  Christopher said he was staying in that area and would be near when we finished--to just call him. 


All I can say is WOW!  The gates were all gold.


Front Gates to the Chateau of Versailles

Here are some pictures from the rooms inside.

Hercules Room

a fireplace mantle

the Kings Bedroom

Louie on the mantle

the Queens Staircase

top of the stairs

And the best of all--The Hall of Mirrors--where King Louie entertained his guests.

the Hall of Mirrors

a different perspective

We took a  train ride through  the gardens.  I could see that  they would be beautiful in the spring, but it was January and everything was in hibernation.  We took the train to the Grand Trianon, a retreat and entertaining complex built by King Louis to get away from the hustle bustle of the palace (he also entertained his mistress there).

Hallway in Grand Trianon

From there, we walked to the Petite Trianon, home of Marie Antoinette.  Much of it was closed and under renovation, so it was a bit of a disappointment.  We took the train back to the palace and bought a few books to take home, then walked to the front to meet up with Christopher, our taxi driver. 






Christopher took us to see Sacre Couer, a beautiful church on the hill called Montmartre, and all through Montmartre village.  Here we are at the base of the church.




at Sacre Couer



Inside the church

Montmartre is an artsy village on top of a hill on the outskirts of Paris.  He left us there.  We walked through the village and stopped for dinner at a quaint restaurant in town.  We had escargot (again) and raviolis, mushroom penne and beef bourguignon, chocolate cake and apple tart--only $50--I do love French food.  We took another taxi back to our hotel.




1/12/2018


Today we were on our own, and we had the whole day.  We slept in, had a great breakfast, and walked to the bus stop about 3 blocks away.  Took the bus to Arc de Triomphe.  The intersection was extremely busy and had 11 streets intersecting all at this one place.  Here is a picture of the famous structure. 


Arc De Triomphe

The main avenue was the Champs Elysees, a very wide street with wide sidewalks and lots of shopping.  We stopped at a corner drugstore for Pierre Hermes macaroons (very famous) and coffee.  It was very cold outside, about 40 degrees, so the coffee felt good.  Here is a shot of the street.

Champs Elysees

We walked across the Champs Elysees to the Metro station and figured out how to get to Notre Dame (with a little help from the locals that spoke English).  The metro is underground and it took 2 changes, but we made it.  What a sight!  Here are some pictures, inside and out.

Notre Dame



Notre Dame ceiling

beautiful stained glass on the front

The river Seine runs right next to Notre Dame.  The boats were not running because the river was too high, and the boats could not pass under the bridges.  After we left Paris, the Seine actually overflowed and flooded parts of the city.

The River Seine - too high to get boats under the bridges

We rode the Metro back to our hotel for a rest.  I patted us on the back for our adventure.  We found that the locals were very nice to tourists and really seemed to enjoy helping us.  I unexpectedly loved Paris! 






We had dinner on Rue Le Cler--it was OK.  Then we walked to the Eiffel Tower.  It looked so close from the hotel, but it was a bit of a walk.  The structure is so big, and it lights up the night sky (looking even closer), you don't realize how far away it is (and me with 2 canes).  Here is a good nighttime picture, and one from the bottom center, looking straight up (it looks very artistic don't you think?).

Eiffel Tower at night

Looking straight up through the structure

Every night on the top of the hour, the twinklers come on for 5 minutes --it is just beautiful!

We went to a little restaurant near the Tower, and had coffee and dessert, then walked back to our hotel around 11:00.  We got cleaned up, packed our bags for morning, and went to bed.