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Finally made it back to the Palace of Versailles! Visiting the Palace was one of my favorite things last time I was in Europe so I was very excited to take the tour again. Six years ago when I went I had an actual guide but this time we used the audio guides which we nice because you could move on at your own pace. The ceilings were just as gorgeous as I had remembered. The Opera was another great room to sit in and soak in all the rich details. After exploring the interior, Vanessa, Kelly A. and I rented a golf cart to tour the grounds. I had explored on foot pervious visit and hadn’t had the time to walk very far.
The golf cart made it much easier to see more of the grounds in less time. Since you had to be 23 years of age (a very random age if you ask me), I was the only one of us three, the age to rent one. I surrendered my Wisconsin driver’s license for the keys to a golf cart. I had never driven one before and I would imagine that on an actual golf course the
ride would have been quite smooth. The “road” that was mapped out for golf carts to follow was full of deep ditches that worked as the equivalent of speed bumps. I had to slow down very often to avoid bottoming out. My cart was quite slow in comparison to other carts. Some guys (either American or British) decided to tailgate my pokey cart and even re-ended me when I had to stop to let the real cars turn on the road. We weren’t hurt of course because even the faster carts don’t travel fast enough to do any real damage. The hour we had to rent the golf cart was up rather quickly but I got some good pictures of the grounds and statues.
Vanessa, Kelly and I found a great little restaurant a few blocks from Versailles. We ordered the three course meal which had crepes in every dish including our salads. When it was time for the dessert crepes, the waiter brought out a pan of pure alcohol and attempted to light it on fire for us as he poured it over our crepes. Since it was daytime it was hard to see the flame but I appreciated
the effort nevertheless.
We went into McDonalds to use the restroom and we ran into Valita, Alex and Gabrielle. They were ordering lunch so we said “goodbye” and we left to catch the Metro home. We actually ran into the rest of the group while waiting for our ride and a few minutes later those from Mc Donald’s joined us too. It was strange how without planning it we all met up. When we made it back to the hotel, I met Vanessa and Kelly again down in the lobby to go dress shopping. I wanted to find a dress for the Moulin Rouge since I don’t really own any dresses. The girls were so patient! It must have taken 5 shops for me to finally find something that I liked and that fit. My size was missing in most stores. I guess it’s a popular size in Paris. Well, I found a great dress and Vanessa and Kelly bought jewelry to wear that evening.
We walked back to the hotel and I spent the next hour getting ready then I met the group, everyone except Valita, down in the lobby. We set out for the Moulin Rouge which is
located in Pigalle. Pigalle must be the most disgusting place in Paris. It was lined with adult stores and even had a Sex Museum. To make matters worse, the rain was coming down hard, threatening to destroy my hair! We made it in one piece and were seated in the first level in front of the stage.
A woman sang throughout our meal and the show started after the dishes had been cleared away. The food had been only mediocre. The dancers were in fairly great shape. I guess I just expected them to be more fit since the show is so popular. The comedy acts were only slightly entertaining and the dancing was fine. Overall, I wouldn’t pay that much to watch a show again. It was a one time thing and now my curiosity has been satisfied. After the show, John bought all the girls a rose. It was a very nice gesture. It had stopped raining and we all headed back to the hotel.
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