Topdeck European Wonder Trip (October 8th-25th, 2009)

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Day 3: Paris, France Friday, October 9th, 2009

On the third day of our European Wonder trip, Renata and I decided that we wanted to visit the Chateau de Versailles, since this was our second visit to Paris and we have already been up the Eiffel Tower. Our friend Kathy decided to tag along. So we took the RER C5 line, direction Versailles Rive Gauche (train called VICK) and when we got off at Versailles Rive Gauche station, it was easy enough to locate the palace because there were signs everywhere. We got tickets to the palace and the gardens at a nearby store that helped us skip the line. The palace was huge and beautiful. It looked fit for a queen ;-) The royals sure liked to have their portraits painted, as there were portraits of famous French kings and queens everywhere. My favourite rooms were the Hall of Mirrors (where the Treaty of Versailles was signed, ending World War I) and the Hall of Battles (where there were numerous paintings displaying the wars in French history). The gardens were equally as beautiful and grand as the palace itself. The Orangerie was quite stunning and I enjoyed the scenery and the fountains. We decided to stop by McDonalds for lunch (I know, we're in France and we decide to eat at McDonalds), but there didnt seem to be any other places around in Versailles ;-)

After lunch, we headed back to Paris, where I wanted to go up Notre Dame Cathedral to see the gargoyles but the line was way too long. So we just went inside the cathedral and wandered around the perimeter for a while. I liked the gothic architecture, the rose window and the chandeliers hanging from the ceiling. I believe this is where the story of the Hunchback of Notre Dame took place.

After wandering around Notre Dame Cathedral, we decided that we wanted to check out Napoleons tomb, but Les Invalides was closed. So we explored the outer perimeter, where we took pictures of ourselves on cannons, while we waited for our picnic dinner with the rest of the Topdeck gang.

The picnic dinner occurred, in the picnic area near the Eiffel tower. The dinner was quite good, cold salads and I even got to try escargot. The only problem was that it was pouring rain. So it wasn't much of a picnic; just everyone scrambling to grab their food and hurry onto the bus before they got soaked. Nevertheless, it was memorable seeing our picnic being washed away by the torrential downpour.

Luckily the rain subsided eventually and Renata, Kathy and I decided to go to the Louvre. We got discounted tickets, because we arrived at the Louvre after 6:00 pm and it closed at 9:30pm. I know that three hours certainly is not enough time to explore the Louvre (you can spend an entire day in there), but I just wanted to be able to say that I saw the basics (i.e. the Mona Lisa, the Venus de Milo and the Winged Victory of Samothrace). I got to see two out of the three which wasn’t bad.

When the museum closed and we were escorted out, we decided to pay a visit to the Arc de Triomphe. To anyone who wants to see the Arc de Triomphe, up and personal, do not, I repeat DO NOT walk across the crazy, accident waiting to happen roundabout to get there. There is an underground passage, on Champes Elysees that leads straight up into the center of the circle where the Arc de Triomphe was. It was scary watching pedestrians trying to cross the roundabout. The tomb of the Unknown Soldier is found underneath the Arc de Triomphe. The tomb of the Unknown Soldier found in many European countries commemorate all those who died in the previous wars.

So that was the end of our day in Paris, or so we thought. We got lost trying to find our way back to the hotel. On top of that, it was dark and it started pouring rain outside again. We got to practice our French, asking random people how to get to our hotel, but we eventually gave up. My sister was finally able to hail down a taxi. The taxi driver even got lost trying to find our hotel, so I didn’t feel completely stupid. Nevertheless, we finally made it back to the hotel, drenched but content.

So that was the end of an exhausting, interesting and fairly rainy day. Our time in Paris was short, so I will definitely have to plan a visit Paris again in the future. So it’s off to bed, and then an 8 hour bus ride to Lauterbrunnen, Switzerland in the morning.

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