Day Nine
Wednesday, May 23rd, 2007
Today was a full day of site seeing! We left first thing to head to Versailles. With a slight misdirection on the train, we arrived to meet the rest of the world at the Palace. The walk to the Palace was slightly treacherous between the horribly uneven cobblestone, ambush vendors and the hot sun. We made it though, unscathed!
The exterior architecture of the Palace was grand, but inside was even more impressive. Figure sculptures lined the hallway as we began the tour. The lengthy hall way would have made a cool perspective study. It was fun to recognize the names of some of the sculptures, including one of Joan d’Arc. The hallway led us to the theater were we sat enjoying the decadence of the decoration and wondered where Marie Antoinette sat to watch performances. Through the theater the tour led us through the rest of the rooms. I always wonder in places like Versailles if the bedrooms they have set up now for us to see were really what they were like when people lived there. I was less impressed by the hall of mirrors than I was expecting. Part of the reason is it is under renovation, so the mirrors are clean and shiny, and another part was people had etched their names into some of the mirrors. I just was expecting clean and shiny in this long hall of mirrors and chandeliers, but it wasn’t. After walking through the Palace, we went outside to the gardens. Standing on the steps I could barely see the end of the gardens in the horizon. We could see objects floating around in one of the rectangular ponds which turned out to be kayakers and row boats. I really wish I would have known you could do that because I definitely would have ventured out. I think that doing the fun and random things make a trip more memorable than doing what every other tourist is doing.
We headed back into Paris around 4:00 to meet up with the group that went to Giverny at the Eiffel Tower. When we came up from the RER station we oriented ourselves to where we were and started walking in the direction toward the Eiffel Tower. Then, all of a sudden, we looked down a side street and bam! There was one leg of the tower!!! It was so cool to see this massive base of the Eiffel tower right at the end of this small side street. I took my time walking up to the center, enjoying the garden and the increasing immensity of the tower as you got closer. The tower is even more impressive right up close. I couldn’t wait to get to the top.
Of course we had to wait though…the line for the elevator was at least a thirty minute wait, but so worth it. As we rose up the tower we could see outside. Stopping up at the second level, the sun was low in the sky and Paris looked like a golden city. I walked around the entire level and took some great pictures of the air view of the city. Then it was time to take the second elevator from the second to the third platform.
Just before we got to the elevator in the line, I heard my name from the crowd. I was thinking it was just a group member, but as I looked over my shoulder, I spotted Caroline, my cousin’s girlfriend. We knew we would be in Paris at the same time, but we hadn’t planned to meet. I had just been thinking how crazy it would be to run into her and there we were in the same place at the same time. Not to mention that she found me because the area around the Eiffel Tower as well as each platform, it would be like “Where’s Waldo” to find someone. We took pictures on the third level just to prove we weren’t making it up.
We then went out to dinner on the Champs Elysee. After my seventeen euro screwdriver, a delicious dinner and great conversation, we had to head back to the hotel. Lynn and I got off a metro stop further from the hotel and crossed the Seine. I captured a great picture of the Eiffel Tower all lit up with the river and a lit bridge in the foreground. What a great day!
