Destination: Versailles

February 24, 2013-

Today we took a trip to Versailles. We figured we'd only be in France once and it would be wrong if we didn't see Versailles. 

Versailles is probably the only thing I remember from history class because I am so fascinated by the Queen and King type governments, the palaces, etc. I was so excited to have the opportunity to finally see all the palaces and estates in Versailles.

We headed to Versailles on the train and were on it for about 40 minutes. Of course, it was also snowing and freezing there, but that didn't stop us. As we walked up the street (took us about 20 minutes to figure out we needed to walk UP the street not down) we turned the corner to this beautiful dazzling palace with golden gates overlooking the whole city. I've never seen a more beautiful "building" before.

As we made our way up the hill on the cobblestone walkway we entered in to the palace, showed them our visa in hopes of getting in for free, and entered into the angelic palace. Every single room I went in to in the palace was absolutely breath taking, even the ceilings! I was thinking about my Aunt Sharon and my Mom the whole day and how much they would love the palace. There was gold everywhere and the paintings were marvelous, the whole thing was spectacular. I simple cannot come up with the words to describe how beautiful this place actually was. After we were done touring the palace (which took about 4 hours) we walked outside to look at the gardens. The gardens were shaped like mazes. We stood on a ledge that overlooked a huge river with more gardens and a white statue at the end of it. I can only imagine what the gardens look like in the summer with all the flowers planted in between the maze in bloom.

After, we walked about 40 minutes to arrive at Grand Trianon. On the map this was still located on the huge property and apart of the palace, just another area with many different palaces. Our ultimate goal was to find Marie Antoinette's estate, which was in the very far corner of the map so we figured on our way there we could see these places as well. The Grand Trianon was a PINK castle (my favorite color). We didn't know what it was so we mosied around and saw the gardens there too. This was beautiful as well, but not as great as the palace, of course. 

Leaving the Grand Trianon, we headed to the petite Trianon. These "Trianon" buildings were build by King Louis for he and his family to live in to get away from the high stress of the palace and spend some quality family time together. 

After the petite Trianon we wandered and wandered for about two hours deeper in to the property. There was a label on the map that said "Marie Antoinette's Estate" so that was where we were headed. You can't go to Versailles and NOT see Marie Antoinette's house, that'd be crazy! After walking around in the freezing snow for a long time trying to find this "estate" we realized it was just land and that there was no number on the map that would correspond with a building. BLONDE MOMENT. Although it was beautiful, we might have skipped wandering around for hours had we known there wasn't actually a "house." 

As soon as we realized this, we turned around and walked back to the palace. We were freezing, wet, and felt really dumb, but we made the trek. We arrived back to the palace and then made our way back to the train station and back to Paris.

We hadn't eaten all day and still wanted to see the Notre Dame Cathedral, even if it was at night, so food had to wait. We got off the train and on to the metro and headed to the Notre Dame Cathedral. Although it was nighttime it was still so beautiful. 

I love seeing all the gorgeous cathedrals around Europe, it's a constant reminder that everything I have and get to experience is made possible by Him. I wish we could have gone during the day to be able to attend mass, as it was Sunday, but at least we got to see the outside. 

We took pictures and walked around the Cathedral for a bit and then found a restaurant called the "Notre Dame Cafe" across the street and sat and ate dinner there. I had a personal pizza with French Fries and Amanda had chicken that looked really good. This "Notre Dame Cafe" is where I had THE BEST chocolate cake and strawberries I've ever eaten. The flavor was indescribable, but I wished it would've lasted forever.

Again, after leaving the restaurant it was time to find the metro to go home. And leave it to us, we got lost again. However, the one good thing about getting lost, is you always find neat things and encounter buildings you don't plan on seeing. I kind of like it!


Our feet hurt from walking so much, we calculated it and we had walked around 8 miles in Versailles and we had been walking non stop since we woke up. I love that we can walk everywhere, it gives me energy and a sense of freedom. It's going to be difficult to return to the states and get in the car and drive places, I wish I could walk everywhere!

Unfortunately though, it was our last day in Paris and tomorrow we would have to head home to Barcelona. Excited to get home to the sun and our own beds, we closed our eyes after a long day.