We started the morning by making friends with the baker at the local boulangerie (always good when they give you a couple of free apple turnovers :) ! Then we were off to Notre Dame where the lines were incredible, so a quick look around admiring the gargoyles and the little veggie garden tended to by the monks and we were off again...
Then the trains! We successfully took 2 metros and two commuter rails out to Versailles.The weather was utterly perfect for walking around Paris today; about 70 degrees with big white puffy clouds and a cool breeze. This weather came in handy when we reached the line at Versailles. Even though we already had our passes, the line for security was 8 snake-like turns that took up the entire front entry way to the palace. We were in line behind some funny Australians though, so it made the two hour wait feel shorter.
Versailles was beautiful, except for the crowds. So we toured the palace and had a picnic of pain-au-chocolat (from the friendly boulangerie). This excursion took most of the day so we were getting hungry again...
After Versailles we took a stroll around the city near the palace. We found a fantastic artisianal indoor/outdoor food market that circled a central square. We selected a couple of cheeses, cherrys, bread, and wine then hopped back on the train(s) towards the Eiffel Tower!
"Holy crap... That's the Eiffel Tower!" - Andrea's first sighting the enormous steel structure
We had our second picnic of the day under the Eiffel Tower. It was spectactular, delicious, awe inspiring, and romantic... for the hundreds of couples doing exactly the same thing we were... and it was wonderful. We saw a couple who obviously had just gotten married (big white poofy dress and red shoes of course). We saw a good deal of French kissing... oooh la la... and we met a wonderful couple from California who offered to take our picture (sadly the camera had literally JUST died...) they were very nice and one was a recently retired teacher! Congrats on retirement!
By this point, we were absolutely shattered from the day (it stays light here until about 10pm... so you can stay out much later than you think without noticing). We went back to the apartment and watched some frenchy TV, finished up the bread and cheese (and another bottle of wine) and passed out around 1am.
What a day! Now to do it all over again.
Tomorrow: Louvre, Arc de Triomphe, and dinner at the Eiffel Tower (again... :)
The World is ours!
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