Paris & Versailles

Paris & Versailles

Tuesday morning we got up earlier than early to head to Paris. I saw my second sunrise of the week (second sunrise since moving to Germany too, lol). It is about a 5 hour drive to Paris and we arrived right about lunch time. Traffic in Paris is INSANE. Thankfully smart Shelby got us a hotel on the edge of the city so we just barely had to drive in it and then we parked in the hotel garage and took the subway around. The hotel garage was interesting. It was a tiny little opening covered by a tiny little door. We rented a van for the week so that everyone would fit in one car and this little van barely fit through the opening. We had to pull the mirrors in and Shelby had to maneuver it just right to get it down the ramp without taking out the front end! After checking into the hotel we caught the subway towards the Eiffel Tower.

We ate lunch at a little cafe right near the Eiffel Tower and then afterward walked over get some pictures. To go up in the tower you have two options, the elevator or the escalator and stairs. The line for the escalator and stairs is of course very very short. The line for the elevator is hours long. The trick is to get there early in the morning, but we were too late for that. Since it was a cloudy rainy day we decided to skip waiting to go up in the tower since we knew the visibility was pretty low. We could either wait all afternoon to go up in the tower or go check out some of the other Paris sights. Shel and I left the choice up to the family since we live just a few hours down the road and will surely be back again.

We got lots of pics and let Colin run around in the grass near the tower to burn off some energy. He had a blast chasing this big black bird that wasn't afraid of him at all. It would taunt him by letting him get almost within reach and then hopping off. Colin would follow and this went on until the bird hopped through a hole in a garden fence and Colin couldn't go after him anymore. Colin protested by crying to his daddy about it.

Next we walked around the Paris streets for a bit on our way to catch the subway to the Notre Dame. The Notre Dame is incredible. In most of the churches I have seen here it is the inside that is the sight to see. The Notre Dame is the opposite, the inside is beautiful...but the outside is a work of art. Every inch of the building is covered in ornate details and the architecture is unbelievable. By the time we were done there it was time to catch the subway and head back to the hotel. We ended up having a delicious dinner in the hotel. Shelby and I had crawfish bisque and escargot for an appetizer. For my meal I ate a french salad that had very thinly sliced, raw beef and fresh parmesan cheese on it. The meat was marinated in some lime juice and seasoning so I believe it was slightly cooked from the acid in the juice, much like in ceviche. It was delicious though! I had creme brulee for dessert too, mmmm! Shelby had some trout for dinner with crepes for dessert.

The next morning we woke up and headed for Versailles, which is about 30km away from Paris. The Chateau de Versailles was the palace of Louis XIV in the late 1600 - 1700s and also where the Treaty of Versailles was signed. The Treaty of Versailles was signed in 1919 at the end of WWI and ended the war between Germany and the Allied Powers (basically the rest of the world). The palace is ridiculous! We must go back in the spring or summer when the garden grounds are pretty. The gardens go on for miles and can be viewed from all the huge windows in the palace. Inside there is marble and gold from top to bottom. Elaborate paintings decorate the walls and the ceilings in every room are masterpieces of art. We saw the bed of the king, where he was greeted every morning by a doctor and a parade of people. And, the bed of the queen, where she birthed NINETEEN children publicly for an audience to prove the legitimacy of the heirs! The palace was much more than I expected and worth seeing.

When the palace tour was over it was time to hit the road back to Germany. We spent a little time (felt like a lot of time) in Paris traffic. We learned that in Paris the cars ride between the lane lines and the motorcycles ride on the lines. They zip in and out between the cars and do not have to stop for traffic. Even the motorcycle policemen did this so it must be legal, lol. We finally made it back to Thaleischweiler in time for some pizza and salad from the bar and to get a good nights sleep.