I (Mack) took the quiches that we bought the other day and warmed them in a pan on a low heat. I put another pan upside down over the top to use as a lid because there are none in our apartment here in Paris. While the quiches warmed up I managed to figure out how to use the small espresso brewer we have in the kitchen. I produced a couple of nice, large cups of espressos for us to drink. Then I sliced up some bread and set that out with some salami and butter.
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| Quiche for Breakfast |
We ate and then hit the streets to walk over to the Saint-Michel Notre-Dame RER Train station. On our walk over, we got to enjoy more streets we hadn't seen yet. We also walked along the Seine River and saw the Notre Dame Cathedral briefly.
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| Space Invader PasteUp |
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| Notre Dame |
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| Saint-Michel Notre-Dame Station |
We followed the signs at the train station to get to the ticketing booth. They offer a variety of different passes to purchase. We bought 2 of the Paris Visite passes that cover 5 days and the 1-5 Arrondissements (neighborhoods) of Paris. This is the most all-inclusive type of pass they offer. This pass allows us to go to Versailles, the Airport for our flight back to London, and to any of the 5 neighborhoods an unlimited amount of times. You can also buy different passes with a variety of days and/or a smaller group of Arrondissements if you prefer.The only real negative of the ticket is that it is literally a tiny little piece of paper that you could easily lose or destroy and there are no refunds.
After we bought our tickets, we followed the signs to the platform that was heading to Versailles via the RER C line train. This is the only train that goes directly to Versailles. We chose to walk over to this station instead of going to one closer to our apartment to avoid having any transfer issues.
When we arrived at the platform, we were surprised to see that the trains have no signs or indication of which train it is. Or if there were any signs then we couldn't find them. There were also no announcements overhead to tell you which trains were leaving or arriving. After a few moments of hesitation, we got on the train at the platform and hoped for the best. We were able to confirm that all was well after a few stops along the route thanks to the Paris Metro app that we had downloaded.
The crowd on the train at 8am was a mixture of people going to work, tourists going to Versailles, and other random folks. The train cars are double decker which is pretty cool. You can sit wherever you find a space upstairs or downstairs. The windows slide down for ventilation but not many of them were open when we got on. It was pretty humid and a bit warm from our walk. Eventually we got a window seat and opened it up for some fresh air.
The train ride to Versailles is about 35 minutes from where we got on and has an interesting view of Paris as you go along popping in and out of stations. The train also gets a bit of exhaust coming into the cars, I'm guessing from the train itself?
The final destination on the RER C line is the Palace of Versailles. There is no need for you to even pay attention once you are on the train, just get off when it finally stops. How convenient!
When we arrived and got off the train, there were mostly all tourists around us and we could easily follow the gigantic stream of people through the streets of Versailles to the palace grounds.
As we approached the palace we began to marvel at its size and elegance. It sits atop a sloping hill ominously overlooking the town below. The outside of Versailles looked incredible in the bright morning sunshine. The gold on the gates and walls glittered and shined brightly. It was quite impressive.
Even at this early hour, there was already a massive line of tourists waiting to get in to the palace. We took a few photos of the outside of the palace and of the very large line that was forming, and carried on our way to the Private tour group check-in point.
Prior to coming on our trip we booked tour tickets to see the private king's bedrooms and some other private rooms in the palace. The private tour was only 7 EUROS! And we were able to enjoy an hour long tour of rooms that you could not visit or see from the Standard Passport walking tour. The best part of the tour though was that it allowed us to skip the long line to enter the palace.
The tour guide was very informative and spoke in English. Every room we saw in the palace was ornate from head to toe, sparing no expense to show that royalty lived there.
The walls were decorated in gold moulding and massive paintings. The decorations and furniture gave a tiny peek into what it must have looked like when the palace was in full swing. Everything was over the top.
After our private tour concluded we were allowed to wander the grounds and the public areas of the palace with the masses of other people.
We set a goal to see the Hall of Mirrors. This area of the palace is famous for having large mirrors lining a large auditorium-style hall. Back in the day when mirrors were hard to come by, the King made this huge room completely lined with mirrors to throw parties and dances in. Of course this was one more example of the King's wealth and extravagance. But to get to this room we had to walk through a significant amount of other rooms, some we had already seen, and endure the shoulder-to-shoulder crowds.
The crowds in the public space of the palace are NOT to be taken lightly. They are thick, pushy, smelly, rude and all on a mission to get their photos of everything they can. There were many moments where we both got a bit overwhelmed but we did make it to the Hall of Mirrors eventually.
After that we managed to make our way outside to the gardens. When you buy a "Visite Guidee" private tour pass you still have to buy a standard passport ticket too. The passport pass we bought included access to all of the gardens and all other areas of the property we wanted to see. This was only 25 Euros each.
We strolled along the amazingly large grounds of the garden and made our way down to the maze-like forest and had lunch. There is a cafe down there where we bought some ham and cheese baguette sandwiches, wine, and sparkling water.
While eating we were visited by a very confident cat who seemed to be waiting for us to drop him a morsel or two from our lunch. We did not oblige. He stretched a bit and ran along.
We then continued our walk down to the Apollo Fountain and Grand Canal areas of the property. This walk from the palace is about 15 minutes and 1km.
We kept on hoofing it another .5km over to Marie-Antoinette's Estate in the back corner of the Palace grounds. This is a place she built to get away from the busy life of the palace to relax and enjoy the farm-like village she also built behind her estate. Visiting her home was very interesting. Everything is so gorgeous and the grounds are bigger than you could imagine. There is so much space being used by the entire Palace grounds that you are in awe of it when you walk around and look back at how far you've walked. There is so much open space and many elaborate structures are built throughout it.
After visiting Marie's property we waited in a small line to get on the tram back to the palace. Our feet were not happy and we were done walking. We paid 4 Euros to a very assertive tram driver and took off on our bumpy ride back up the hill.
On our way out of the Palace of Versailles we got a few more photos and took a moment to reflect again on the amazing beauty that was created there, and the huge crowds that visit.
http://en.chateauversailles.fr/homepage
We walked back into the town of Versailles and had a beer at a local restaurant. We miss the convenience of London that has a pub on every corner and getting a beer in 30 seconds. We drank our beers and got back on the train home.
We took a little nap at home and decided to go find food.
We walked around a little looking at menus here and there and again wound up at the Chez Gladines restaurant. This time we showed up around 6:45pm. There was no line to sit down and we were able to get a spot in the back of the restaurant almost instantly.
We sat inside, as far away from the outdoor smoking section as possible, but we were still getting overwhelmed with smoke by the people sitting right outside. It was so bad at first that my throat was stinging and I had to breathe in short bursts. It took a lot of getting used to.
This restaurant has a reputation for slow service from the reviews we read so we went into it with that expectation. It took probably 15 minutes before we were able to order.
Deanna ordered the Poullet Basquais, which was a dish of chicken baked in a red tomato sauce with peppers, onions, and white rice. I ordered a Rib Steak dish. We also ordered a bottle of bordeaux red wine. The wine and food came out in a normal amount of time. My steak was cooked much better than the one I had the night before. It was tough in some spots but overall a very good steak. The steak came with freshly made potato chips and a salad. Both of these were delicious. Deanna said she liked her chicken dish a lot but that she could probably make it better at home.
When we were done eating we ordered a caramel creme and 2 cafes (espresso). The caramel creme was sort of like a flan and tasted great. We added some sugar to our espressos and sipped away. When we were done eating we walked up to the bar and paid for our bill. Nobody really gives you a heads up that you have to pay at the bar like this. We found out by asking for the bill at one point. Overall we liked this place and would go here again. It wasn't as annoying as some people on Yelp made it out to be. I think if you go into something with an negative attitude you will get that negativity back. We had fun.
It is supposed to storm the next few days here in Paris, so we are trying to figure out our plan of attack. We may take it easy tomorrow and just eat at places nearby and not really venture to any attractions. The Louvre and Eiffel Tower is probably going to happen on Thursday.
Thanks for reading and we'll have another update for you soon.
Our full photo album is located here(Many more photos and we'll be posting on facebook in one large album later):https://goo.gl/photos/rRMpDJXDXoF5QsS98
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| Walking to the Palace |
As we approached the palace we began to marvel at its size and elegance. It sits atop a sloping hill ominously overlooking the town below. The outside of Versailles looked incredible in the bright morning sunshine. The gold on the gates and walls glittered and shined brightly. It was quite impressive.
Even at this early hour, there was already a massive line of tourists waiting to get in to the palace. We took a few photos of the outside of the palace and of the very large line that was forming, and carried on our way to the Private tour group check-in point.
 |
| Line to get in |
 |
| Private court gateway |
Prior to coming on our trip we booked tour tickets to see the private king's bedrooms and some other private rooms in the palace. The private tour was only 7 EUROS! And we were able to enjoy an hour long tour of rooms that you could not visit or see from the Standard Passport walking tour. The best part of the tour though was that it allowed us to skip the long line to enter the palace.
The tour guide was very informative and spoke in English. Every room we saw in the palace was ornate from head to toe, sparing no expense to show that royalty lived there.
 |
| Our tour guide |
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| Us on our tour. This lady was also on our tour, she ran into us a few times. |
The walls were decorated in gold moulding and massive paintings. The decorations and furniture gave a tiny peek into what it must have looked like when the palace was in full swing. Everything was over the top.
 |
| The first rolling door desk ever |
After our private tour concluded we were allowed to wander the grounds and the public areas of the palace with the masses of other people.
 |
| Royal Opera House |
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| Royal Opera House |
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| Royal Opera House |
We set a goal to see the Hall of Mirrors. This area of the palace is famous for having large mirrors lining a large auditorium-style hall. Back in the day when mirrors were hard to come by, the King made this huge room completely lined with mirrors to throw parties and dances in. Of course this was one more example of the King's wealth and extravagance. But to get to this room we had to walk through a significant amount of other rooms, some we had already seen, and endure the shoulder-to-shoulder crowds.
The crowds in the public space of the palace are NOT to be taken lightly. They are thick, pushy, smelly, rude and all on a mission to get their photos of everything they can. There were many moments where we both got a bit overwhelmed but we did make it to the Hall of Mirrors eventually.
 |
| Deanna in the Hall of Mirrors |
After that we managed to make our way outside to the gardens. When you buy a "Visite Guidee" private tour pass you still have to buy a standard passport ticket too. The passport pass we bought included access to all of the gardens and all other areas of the property we wanted to see. This was only 25 Euros each.
We strolled along the amazingly large grounds of the garden and made our way down to the maze-like forest and had lunch. There is a cafe down there where we bought some ham and cheese baguette sandwiches, wine, and sparkling water.
While eating we were visited by a very confident cat who seemed to be waiting for us to drop him a morsel or two from our lunch. We did not oblige. He stretched a bit and ran along.
We then continued our walk down to the Apollo Fountain and Grand Canal areas of the property. This walk from the palace is about 15 minutes and 1km.
 |
| The Queen's Vagina art installation (Info) |
We kept on hoofing it another .5km over to Marie-Antoinette's Estate in the back corner of the Palace grounds. This is a place she built to get away from the busy life of the palace to relax and enjoy the farm-like village she also built behind her estate. Visiting her home was very interesting. Everything is so gorgeous and the grounds are bigger than you could imagine. There is so much space being used by the entire Palace grounds that you are in awe of it when you walk around and look back at how far you've walked. There is so much open space and many elaborate structures are built throughout it.
 |
| Marie's House |
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| Marie's Private Room |
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| Marie's Village |
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| Marie's Village |
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| Marie's Village |
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| Marie's Village - The view from the Dome of the Temple of Love |
After visiting Marie's property we waited in a small line to get on the tram back to the palace. Our feet were not happy and we were done walking. We paid 4 Euros to a very assertive tram driver and took off on our bumpy ride back up the hill.
 |
| Tram Ride! |
On our way out of the Palace of Versailles we got a few more photos and took a moment to reflect again on the amazing beauty that was created there, and the huge crowds that visit.
http://en.chateauversailles.fr/homepage
We walked back into the town of Versailles and had a beer at a local restaurant. We miss the convenience of London that has a pub on every corner and getting a beer in 30 seconds. We drank our beers and got back on the train home.
We took a little nap at home and decided to go find food.
We walked around a little looking at menus here and there and again wound up at the Chez Gladines restaurant. This time we showed up around 6:45pm. There was no line to sit down and we were able to get a spot in the back of the restaurant almost instantly.
We sat inside, as far away from the outdoor smoking section as possible, but we were still getting overwhelmed with smoke by the people sitting right outside. It was so bad at first that my throat was stinging and I had to breathe in short bursts. It took a lot of getting used to.
This restaurant has a reputation for slow service from the reviews we read so we went into it with that expectation. It took probably 15 minutes before we were able to order.
Deanna ordered the Poullet Basquais, which was a dish of chicken baked in a red tomato sauce with peppers, onions, and white rice. I ordered a Rib Steak dish. We also ordered a bottle of bordeaux red wine. The wine and food came out in a normal amount of time. My steak was cooked much better than the one I had the night before. It was tough in some spots but overall a very good steak. The steak came with freshly made potato chips and a salad. Both of these were delicious. Deanna said she liked her chicken dish a lot but that she could probably make it better at home.
When we were done eating we ordered a caramel creme and 2 cafes (espresso). The caramel creme was sort of like a flan and tasted great. We added some sugar to our espressos and sipped away. When we were done eating we walked up to the bar and paid for our bill. Nobody really gives you a heads up that you have to pay at the bar like this. We found out by asking for the bill at one point. Overall we liked this place and would go here again. It wasn't as annoying as some people on Yelp made it out to be. I think if you go into something with an negative attitude you will get that negativity back. We had fun.
It is supposed to storm the next few days here in Paris, so we are trying to figure out our plan of attack. We may take it easy tomorrow and just eat at places nearby and not really venture to any attractions. The Louvre and Eiffel Tower is probably going to happen on Thursday.
Thanks for reading and we'll have another update for you soon.
Our full photo album is located here(Many more photos and we'll be posting on facebook in one large album later):https://goo.gl/photos/rRMpDJXDXoF5QsS98
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