I was super stoked for Day four's destination: Chateau de Versailles!
The Palace of Versailles has always fascinated me for morbid reasons. I love history first and foremost, but knowing that Marie Antoinette was spoiled rotten, and later beheaded, has always enthused an obsession within me to see this place.
Terrible, I know.
The French can sure cake up a palace!
We arrived at the Chateau around noon, a bit later than planned, but hey, late is better than never! Grabbed a quick lunch around the block, then headed to the gate.
Before you wait in the first line you initially see, pay attention to signs. There is a separate line to buy tickets FIRST, and then you walk over to the entrance line, ticket in hand. You are required to check bags that are backpack sized or larger. You are not allowed to use flash photography or use a tripod inside.
Once tickets had been purchased, we walked over to the long ass entrance line. Surprisingly, it moves really fast. We waited for about 10 minutes. Not bad!
After going through security where they scan bags and you pass through a metal detector (which you will do in nearly every museum/government funded attraction in Paris), we were on the other side of the gate, in a courtyard like setting! It was gorgeous. So much to look at regarding architecture, decor, details, everything!
The first thing we saw once inside was a grand white marbled area that seemed to hold no special significance. It was just kind of there. The palace chapel was next, and it was 'meh'. If you have read/viewed many of my blogs about Germany and her cathedrals, you can see why I wasn't impressed.
We were ushered through art galleries during the first 10 minutes. There are also numerous scaled models of the palace in the first portion of an unguided tour.
Then we were led out through a hallway and greeted by a grand stairwell that leads upstairs.
***Is it odd that I felt like Celine Dion in the "It's all Coming Back to Me" video every time I passed a candelabra? ...There were nights when the wind was so cold...
Even in low season, getting a shot of the Hall of Mirrors without anyone in sight is difficult, to say the least. If you are patient enough, you can time a good selfie with a nice portion of the hall to yourself. But I was not patient enough to try waiting for the entire hall to clear. I blame this on the invention of the cell phone camera and the iPad.
After climbing the exit stairs, we wound up on a dark street and had lost all sense of direction. I pulled out my handy smartphone, and GPS-ed our metro stop. We were just around the block from where we entered the catacombs in a quiet area. Found our metro station, boarded our train, and headed back to the apartment.
P.S. I was stoked to finally see the Eiffel Tower glittering for the first time! Unfortunately, I was on the train back to our apartment and got a blurry pic.
I do kind of dig it though....looks like glitter being swept by wind!
Next Post:
Paris, Day Five
The Palace of Versailles has always fascinated me for morbid reasons. I love history first and foremost, but knowing that Marie Antoinette was spoiled rotten, and later beheaded, has always enthused an obsession within me to see this place.
Terrible, I know.
Pun kind of intended.
We arrived at the Chateau around noon, a bit later than planned, but hey, late is better than never! Grabbed a quick lunch around the block, then headed to the gate.
Before you wait in the first line you initially see, pay attention to signs. There is a separate line to buy tickets FIRST, and then you walk over to the entrance line, ticket in hand. You are required to check bags that are backpack sized or larger. You are not allowed to use flash photography or use a tripod inside.
We waited in the ticket line for about 20 minutes before realizing that you can bypass the line and pay at a ticket machine inside of the same building. The employees said the machines only took credit card, but the machine I used also accepted Euro, and Euro is how I paid.
Once tickets had been purchased, we walked over to the long ass entrance line. Surprisingly, it moves really fast. We waited for about 10 minutes. Not bad!
After going through security where they scan bags and you pass through a metal detector (which you will do in nearly every museum/government funded attraction in Paris), we were on the other side of the gate, in a courtyard like setting! It was gorgeous. So much to look at regarding architecture, decor, details, everything!
After about 15 minutes of gawking and taking selfies, we headed inside of the grand palace. I opted out of buying the Versailles 'Passport' tickets, which allows you to visit the Queen's Petite Trianon & hamlet (private estate and farm), and the Grand Trianon Palace. I'll save it for another day.
NOTE: The gardens are always free to wander, and the entrance to them doesn't require you to wait in line.
The first thing we saw once inside was a grand white marbled area that seemed to hold no special significance. It was just kind of there. The palace chapel was next, and it was 'meh'. If you have read/viewed many of my blogs about Germany and her cathedrals, you can see why I wasn't impressed.
We were ushered through art galleries during the first 10 minutes. There are also numerous scaled models of the palace in the first portion of an unguided tour.
Then we were led out through a hallway and greeted by a grand stairwell that leads upstairs.
Upstairs, there was an interesting hallway that housed life size statues of famous noblemen; most of which had interesting facial expressions, as if one had 'cut the fromage'.
Once past the creepy old stone men, we saw HUGE rooms. Kind of what I imagine to be living rooms for the insanely rich. You know: Big, wallpapered, and contain very small amounts of gaudy furniture! The ceilings were impressively detailed. The crown molding was fit for a King, and the fireplaces made me wish I had a cozy blanket and a steaming hot mug of tea on hand.
After leaving these rooms, you wind up walking through a parlor, and the apartments of the palace. The apartments weren't super impressive and some were closed off for restoration. Numerous historical famous names other than the infamous King Louis XVI and his wife Queen Marie-Antoinette have stayed or lived here in ye old days. Napoleon did live in Grand Trianon at one point as well. Benjamin Franklin had visited Versailles, and a fun fact is that John D. Rockefeller provided the funds to restore to roof of this beast. I won't get into the Treaty of Versailles that ended WWI, or other historical junk, but this place has some major history roots; it's not all just about decor and wealth. Especially to me.
To think, just for a moment, that this grand palace started as a mere private hunting chateau for a king and became a large piece of history throughout the years is a bit crazy.
***Is it odd that I felt like Celine Dion in the "It's all Coming Back to Me" video every time I passed a candelabra? ...There were nights when the wind was so cold...
After passing the apartments, we entered the "War Room", which has some neat wall relief sculptures. I snapped some pictures and then went through the next entry way. There it was! The famous Hall of Mirrors! It really is beautiful in person just like photos depict. Halfway down the hall, there is a doorway that leads to the King's bed chamber, and his "cabinet" room, and loops you out to another side of the mirrored hall.
Even in low season, getting a shot of the Hall of Mirrors without anyone in sight is difficult, to say the least. If you are patient enough, you can time a good selfie with a nice portion of the hall to yourself. But I was not patient enough to try waiting for the entire hall to clear. I blame this on the invention of the cell phone camera and the iPad.
At the end of the hall, you turn a corner and hit the Queen's bed chamber. There are also some lavishly decorated rooms, and finally a monstrous stairwell (different from the first we encountered) made of marble. Once you go down the stairs, the tour has ended. There is a gift shop on the left, and *big smile* a Laudree boutique store on the right!
Of course, I went into the Laudree shop, and spent more €€ on more macaron junk. I bought a few trinkets at the palace gift shop, and we headed to the gardens. The wind had picked up during this time of day, and the wind-chill was terrible. I walked around the exterior, took a few pictures, and also snapped a few of the garden area around me. We didn't venture far into the gardens because low season doesn't provide flowers, or warmth! There is a lot of ground to cover if you plan to walk the canal. It's about a mile long. Again, I'll do it another time.
We walked back to the courtyard area, my husband picked up his backpack from where he checked it at the entrance, and we headed back to the RER station. We had already seen one ambulance fly by, so while we were walking along a cobble stone sidewalk (or what I thought was a sidewalk) away from the palace, I didn't see or hear a second ambulance coming our way and thought that the siren I was hearing was from the one I had previously seen. I was too busy taking photos to be fully aware. I jumped out of the way right in time after my husband quickly shouted at me, but the damn thing almost hit me, and my husband and kids just laughed.
"Didn't you see it?"
No, I didn't. I thought we were on a SIDEWALK, you know, a place for pedestrians? Apparently not. The other people around us looked at me like I was the village idiot. Oh well. Good times.
We did stop at the Starbucks across the street from the train station and grabbed some white chocolate mochas, and also picked up some hot chocolate for the kids at the McDonald's next door. From Versailles, we set forth to the Catacombs of Paris!
The entrance to the catacombs is not grand. Honestly, if I didn't see the extra long line leading into it, or wasn't looking for it, I would've thought this was just an old unimportant building in Paris. The metro stop is right across the street, but it is wise to note that you will not exit from where you entered.
We met some friendly American folks during our 1.5 hour wait to get in, two of which were on student visas but currently lived in Italy. My kids fell in love with them, and nicknamed the two college students Shaggy and Escaper (one looked like Shaggy from Scooby-Doo cartoons, and the other disappeared briefly to grab fries at a vendor cart across the street, hence the name "Escaper"). Talking to them and sharing our travel adventures helped the time pass, and definitely kept our minds off of the bitter cold.
The entrance to the catacombs is not grand. Honestly, if I didn't see the extra long line leading into it, or wasn't looking for it, I would've thought this was just an old unimportant building in Paris. The metro stop is right across the street, but it is wise to note that you will not exit from where you entered.
We met some friendly American folks during our 1.5 hour wait to get in, two of which were on student visas but currently lived in Italy. My kids fell in love with them, and nicknamed the two college students Shaggy and Escaper (one looked like Shaggy from Scooby-Doo cartoons, and the other disappeared briefly to grab fries at a vendor cart across the street, hence the name "Escaper"). Talking to them and sharing our travel adventures helped the time pass, and definitely kept our minds off of the bitter cold.
Our time FINALLY came to enter! Right before 7pm, when the last ticket sales cease for the day, we went inside, paid €20 and descended down a 60ft winding staircase. The website for the catacombs recommends that visitors bring a jacket because of the underground temperature. HA HA HA. After freezing our asses off for almost 2 hours in line, outside, on a 29 degree (with a 19 degree wind-chill) evening, the 57 degree temperature of the underground catacombs felt wonderful!
The inside self guided tour takes roughly 45 minutes to an hour. Only about a mile of the catacomb tunnels is open to the public, but that one mile seems extremely long when all you see is bones upon bones. The Catacombs of Paris is, in my opinion, a one-time deal. I am glad I had the chance to see it, but you'll never find me in there again. It's just a lot of stacked bones. If you have seen 20 feet of the tunnel, you've seen it all.
The inside self guided tour takes roughly 45 minutes to an hour. Only about a mile of the catacomb tunnels is open to the public, but that one mile seems extremely long when all you see is bones upon bones. The Catacombs of Paris is, in my opinion, a one-time deal. I am glad I had the chance to see it, but you'll never find me in there again. It's just a lot of stacked bones. If you have seen 20 feet of the tunnel, you've seen it all.
Scary? Nope. I remember reading a blog once where the author described the catacombs as a place that's "not for the faint of heart". Bah. I don't feel that's true. But if you are claustrophobic, you may want to skip it. For my photographer friends: This place will fog your lens. The tunnels have a ton of moisture trapped inside, not to mention that condensation from rocks will drip on you from above from time to time. I'd also advise bringing a fast lens too because the lighting isn't the best in some areas. I took my 50mm.
After climbing the exit stairs, we wound up on a dark street and had lost all sense of direction. I pulled out my handy smartphone, and GPS-ed our metro stop. We were just around the block from where we entered the catacombs in a quiet area. Found our metro station, boarded our train, and headed back to the apartment.
Even though we only visited two sites on this day, it was nice not to feel rushed with a ton of plans. I am also grateful that we were actually able to do both things without being turned down because of the line being cutoff. That would suck, and I have had it happen with Notre Dame twice now! I will return to Versailles in the near future, though. I HAVE to wander the gardens when things are in bloom. As for the catacombs, it was fun and all, but not worth a second trip. I'd rather visit a cemetery that doesn't have a long line to the entrance!
P.S. I was stoked to finally see the Eiffel Tower glittering for the first time! Unfortunately, I was on the train back to our apartment and got a blurry pic.
I do kind of dig it though....looks like glitter being swept by wind!
Next Post:
Paris, Day Five
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