Bonjour, dear friends! Wow, I can’t believe it’s day 3 already! Soon this trip will come to an end and I have to get by with only the memories of it. Unlike the days before, we set out to see just one touristy place today. This was an impromptu decision too, because our métro tickets originally didn’t cover this region. But we bought round tickets for the day and knew it was worth every penny. We split into two teams early in the morning: Iva and I were in charge of buying the tickets plus checking if the east train station had lockers (they did) whereas the guys were in charge of breakfast and water for the trip. And off we went.
Yes, our destination of the day was Château Versailles. We boarded the RER line C until its terminus, which was the Château. The seating inside the train was colourful and childlike, much to my delight. As we arrived to the station, there were ladies, telling us directions in which we had to go to reach the palace. We followed the crowd and dropped our jaws when we saw the massiveness of the palace. Moreover, the queue already forming, snaking its way to the entrance. We’d come this far, standing in line was the least we could do. According to the map, this place was huge, what with the boundless garden. The gates shine, covered in solid gold. Then we went in.
First we were taken on an unguided tour (the line to the audio guides took forever) through the history of the palace – who lived there when, who their kids were, how they turned up to be – in a series of paintings, sculptures and other artworks. My favourite part of the whole palace was the thick Rococo style, covering the walls, the furniture, the fireplace, everything. I’ve been obsessed with Rococo for a long time so I couldn’t help but to touch it. The Hall of Mirrors made me swoon as well with its majestic frescos on the ceiling, chandeliers hanging beautifully and mirrors plus gold lining the hallway. It all pretty much gave me a clear image of life way back when.
It was time to venture the garden, making our way towards the Grand Trianon and Marie Antoinette’s estate. The garden was huge but wasn’t as huge as the impression the map gave. The Grand Trianon was made out of patterned-marbles, which reminded me a lot of the entrance of Holkham Hall in England. It was pink and looked very Marie-Antoinette. It also showed us a little of a life of a Queen. We went on to her estate, which showed almost nothing apart from household objects she probably never even touched anyway. On the way home, we shopped for souvenirs for folks back home and stopped by at La Durée to buy 40 of the best macaroons in Paris (2 of each flavour). The lady was surprised to hear that many a number for macaroons. We ate them carefully and slowly, to savour the huge amount of money we spent for it. Tomorrow’s the last day so stay tuned!
Bonjour, dear friends! Wow, I can’t believe it’s day 3 already! Soon this trip will come to an end and I have to get by with only the memories of it. Unlike the days before, we set out to see just one touristy place today. This was an impromptu decision too, because our métro tickets originally didn’t cover this region. But we bought round tickets for the day and knew it was worth every penny. We split into two teams early in the morning: Iva and I were in charge of buying the tickets plus checking if the east train station had lockers (they did) whereas the guys were in charge of breakfast and water for the trip. And off we went.
Yes, our destination of the day was Château Versailles. We boarded the RER line C until its terminus, which was the Château. The seating inside the train was colourful and childlike, much to my delight. As we arrived to the station, there were ladies, telling us directions in which we had to go to reach the palace. We followed the crowd and dropped our jaws when we saw the massiveness of the palace. Moreover, the queue already forming, snaking its way to the entrance. We’d come this far, standing in line was the least we could do. According to the map, this place was huge, what with the boundless garden. The gates shine, covered in solid gold. Then we went in.
First we were taken on an unguided tour (the line to the audio guides took forever) through the history of the palace – who lived there when, who their kids were, how they turned up to be – in a series of paintings, sculptures and other artworks. My favourite part of the whole palace was the thick Rococo style, covering the walls, the furniture, the fireplace, everything. I’ve been obsessed with Rococo for a long time so I couldn’t help but to touch it. The Hall of Mirrors made me swoon as well with its majestic frescos on the ceiling, chandeliers hanging beautifully and mirrors plus gold lining the hallway. It all pretty much gave me a clear image of life way back when.
It was time to venture the garden, making our way towards the Grand Trianon and Marie Antoinette’s estate. The garden was huge but wasn’t as huge as the impression the map gave. The Grand Trianon was made out of patterned-marbles, which reminded me a lot of the entrance of Holkham Hall in England. It was pink and looked very Marie-Antoinette. It also showed us a little of a life of a Queen. We went on to her estate, which showed almost nothing apart from household objects she probably never even touched anyway. On the way home, we shopped for souvenirs for folks back home and stopped by at La Durée to buy 40 of the best macaroons in Paris (2 of each flavour). The lady was surprised to hear that many a number for macaroons. We ate them carefully and slowly, to savour the huge amount of money we spent for it. Tomorrow’s the last day so stay tuned!