Paris...part 1

Today, our second full day in Paris was very eventful. 14 people in our group went to Versailles for a visit, while five others trekked around Paris in search of shopping bliss and Parisian History.

The Versailles trip was accomplished by taking the RER on the C line to the Chateau de Versailles. The trip was amazingly easy to complete, and I am confused why anyone would use a bus to go there. The cost for the trip was 2.90€ each way, and since we were traveling in an educational group the entrance fee was just 5.50€ for students and 7.50€ for adults. While there we treated to an English language tour of the apartment of Louis XV and Louis XVI, which included a look at a salon where Mozart played for the king, as well as a desk commissioned by Louis XVI that cost the trust administering Versailles 11 million euro to reacquire. Our official tour ended with a VIP (maybe the wrong term, but we were allowed into a place that was officially roped off for visitors to Versailles) tour of the King’s Chapel, a spectacular example of the architecture commissioned by Versailles Kings.

Unofficially, that began a more rapid, less detailed look at the apartments of King Louis XIV (The Sun King). We saw his sitting rooms and his sleeping quarters, and then ventured into the Hall of Mirrors (the place were the Treaties of Versailles, that ended both the end of the American Revolution, as well as WWI were argued and signed.)

The Queen’s Quarters were next on our swing through the building. While there we saw the Bed Quarters of Marie Antoinette, as well as her sitting room. Next we had lunch at the surprisingly good Cafè du Versailles (I had the bagette with jambon u fromage...lightly buttered of course, a cup of french onion soup, a piece of french apple pie with a thin layer of custard, and a bottle of water), and then we finished the fairly quick visit to the garden for a few pictures, a quick history lesson on the Franco-American connections associated with Versailles and Washington D.C. (We would have stayed longer in the gardens, but it was frankly quite cold, and since we were not able actually enter the apartment of Marie Antoinette, we decided to cut it short a bit so we could return to Paris proper and visit the Deportation Museum (a wonderful spot that Ryan, our TD, suggested.) that commemorates those French Jews that were taken from the city during the Nazi occupation of the city during WWII. I will take future groups there...it was very good.

After the memorial, we had an hour for some shopping, some relaxing and some people watching. Very nice.

Dinner was at the Place de Clichy, and included cheese filled pastry, baked chicken with a very nice potato dish, and eclairs.

After dinner the group again broke up, with some venturing to the Avenue Des Champs Elysèe for a trip to the top of the Arc de Triomphe for a spectacular view of the city (almost everyone else did this last night.) and then ate ice cream at Hagen Daz....oddly, although I see that word frequently...I know that I am misspelling it.

The rest of the group climbed to the top of Sácre-Cœur for a variety of sightseeing, shopping and culinary experiences...personally, Belinda and I enjoyed the best Nutella and Banana crepes that I have ever had.

Tomorrow, Rouen and our entry into the Normandy region.