Chateau de Versailles and Tour Eiffel
OCTOBER 7, 2014
Our day started off late as we woke up late, but we were also waiting to talk to our Airbnb host. Our host explained that the people by the Metro station weren’t harmful; they just liked to hangout in groups as they haven’t quite meshed into French society yet and didn’t have anything to do. My sister made a comparison to her trip to Africa, and saw a similarity. She mentioned that there too, those that didn’t have a job liked to hangout in groups, which seemed to be a cultural thing.
We started out about 11 am, off to Versailles to see Chateau de Versailles. We took the 85 bus line, to avoid the “scary” Metro station, and got off at St Michel. We felt safer taking the bus, as surprisingly, the bus carried mostly professionals. Also, the advantage of taking the bus is that you get to see the scenery of the city passing by. We saw many cafes along the way, a bunch of cute ones near Rochechuort area I believe. It was pretty fascinating to see the bus maneuver in the small streets; I would have been so nervous driving in Paris! We passed Le Seine along the way, as well the Louvre stop (although we weren’t exactly sure which structure was the Louvre). At St Michel, we saw the Fontaine St Michel and a tour group. The same Sandeman tour group I think which my sister and I were to take the first day we arrived (although we didn’t due to time constraints). But this was a Spanish version, so it was no use to us.
Fontaine St Michel
It was pretty simple to find the RER station. When we stepped underground and were trying to buy tickets, we found out that the ticket machine only took coins. We scoured through our moneybags looking for coins but the cumulative amount between us fell short of the 6.90 euro cents we needed. Another challenge, which aside from the frustration, is what makes a trip so much more interesting and fun. So we went back up to the streets and decided to buy something and at the same time, ask for change. We stopped by a crepe shop, after being quite indecisive, and ordered a Nutella banana crepe. Also, my sister went about typing “Can we get change in coins?” into her dictionary. Awesome, Sister! She showed the message to the cashier, and after a second of reading and comprehending the message, the lady smiled and got us our change. Success. The crepe was pretty huge (about same size as in the US) and it tasted about the same as in the US too.
The crepe shop stop we got our change and some breakfast
We ate as much of the crepe as we possibly could, until we reached the Metro station again. This was our second encounter with gypsies. This time, they were young teenage girls asking us to sign petitions. I’m not sure what the petition is all about, but the tactic, so I’ve heard, is that they will steal your valuables when you are busy talking to them or signing their petitions. It’s good to be cautious, but it’s kind of sad that we have to be aware at all times. I mean, I don’t think it’s really that bad but when you’re in a new place and this is what people warn you about, you always worry just a little bit more.
We finally got on the train, RER C, after being confused about which train to take. There were also two other Americans looking lost, so we didn’t feel too bad. The interesting thing is that they name each of their trains, like Vick. The train was a double-decker, so we took the top seats.
Train tickets to Chateau de Versailles
Riding from Paris to Versailles was basically first seeing apartments and houses and then moving to greenery like farms and out in the country. It took about 45 minutes. When we got there, again we were lost. I guess the signs weren’t so clear. We tried following some of our fellow travelers, but apparently the group we followed was heading towards the wrong direction. Then we saw our two good friends at the train station, also looking lost, but heading in a different direction. So we decided to follow them, secretively of course. I told my sister, if they end up going in the wrong direction, they’d know we were following them for sure!
But alas, they had a sense of direction and brought us to the famous Palace of Versailles, a center of political power during the reign of King Louis XIV and a symbol of absolute monarchy. This place reminded me of my ninth grade history teacher, who was so lively and liked to imitate King Louis XIV’s demeanor. When you first reach the grounds in front of the palace, you are met with the statue of the king himself. The statue itself isn’t all that grand, but with the backdrop of the buildings and large expanse behind him, the image was beautiful.
Statue of King Louis XIV
As we approached the buildings, we could already see a long line. We were hoping that was not the line we had to get into to enter the palace, but it was. But first, we had to buy the tickets, since we did not buy it at the Metro station per our plan, as they only accepted credit card and I was not keen on using plastic if avoidable as there would be a foreign transaction fee charged. The ticket office was to the left, and we headed into the building. I think they added the ticket office to an existing part of the palace. The line went by very quickly, and we got our Museum Pass. The Museum Pass cost 42 euros a person, and allowed us to visit an unlimited number of museums for two days. Our plan was to use the pass at Versailles for the first day, and considering the vastness of the palace, it would take us the whole day to explore. The line to get into the palace was incredibly fast also, although we had some time to finish our crepe as we waited in line. We had to go through a metal detector, and then we were in.
The long line we encountered at Versailles
The front view of the Palace of Versailles
We had stepped into the life of King Louis XIV. It is such an amazing thought that we were stepping on the ground the famous king had once traversed. The pages we had read in the history textbook were now right in front of us. There is so much history behind the curlicue-painted walls, the royal beds that look too short to be beds, the portrayal of religious scenes on the ceiling, the hall of mirrors where dozens of chandeliers hung in symmetric beauty. It was fascinating walking from one room to the next, and imagining what had gone on in each room. In my opinion, the décor and style of the rooms did not feel majestic, but that was probably the style during that time. The main house of the palace was laid out such that there were two wings, each of which was one long hallway. The wings were divided into individual rooms, such that when you close off one room entirely, you were basically closing the walkway. Each room had many doors for access though. It felt like each room had only three walls, and it only had a fourth wall when all doors were closed. That is, very little privacy. In comparison, nowadays, rooms in average American houses are covered by four walls and usually have one small door to enter and exit. I suppose during that time, privacy wasn’t a big concern, as the royal family had all types of servants to take care of every part of their lives, from helping them dress to helping them relieve themselves.
Bedroom of one of the royalties
The beautiful painted ceiling inside the Palace of Versailles
The Hall of Mirrors, as its name indicates, is literally a hall of mirrors, but what stands out is the lines of chandeliers.
Unfortunately, history class happened too many years ago, so I was very rusty on my French history. I really wished that I had just taken a French history class before coming to France. But alas, we take in as much as we can with the sights and the interspersed videos through the building and the unintelligible French-scripted signs describing each piece of furniture. From what I learned during the tour, Chateau de Versailles was originally a hunting lodge built by King Louis XIII. King Louis XIV visited Versailles often as a boy. After King Louis XIV decided to make this his palace, there were many periods of expansion, which saw additions of various parts of the palace to what it is today. My favorite part of the palace was the gardens. I loved the symmetry and structure of the gardens. Really, what make this palace so grand are not the structures itself, but the vastness and expanse of the place. Imagine what it would be like to be able to walk outside to a backyard that is like a state park anytime you want. My sister and I spent sometime walking along the manicured garden, getting lost between the trees and stumbling upon fountain after fountain, and finally reaching the pond, which by the way was not even half of the garden.
View from the gardens of Versailles
One of the fountains we passed by as we explored the manicured gardens of Versailles
But at this section, it seemed like it was at the boundary of the palace area because there was a security booth. It seemed like the other sections were open to the public. Not sure, but when we tried to walk through, the security guy reminded us that there was a music show inside the garden which we had to go to since we had paid to come see the garden. He gave us a wink and off we went to see the music show. Usually, I think the museum pass covers the garden, but because during this time the garden had the music show, we had to pay to get in. According to the security at the front. We hope we weren’t being duped, or that we weren’t being misunderstood. Anyhow, we finally made it to the water show, which was pretty much a less extravagant water show compared to what you can see at the Bellagio, Las Vegas. It was a display of water spraying in rhythm to music. We watched under the umbrella, as it started to sprinkle. It was a good time to rest, as our feet were dragging after walking so much.
Water show at Versailles
It was getting late, maybe about 6 pm, so we decided we should head back. On the way out of the gardens, we saw a rainbow. And a rude driver almost ran us over. Well, at least from our perspective. But we made it safely to the boundaries of Versailles. Somewhere along our journey at Versailles, we took a break for lunch. We grabbed a quick sandwich and drink, and ate in the little cafeteria. They also had some sit-in restaurants but we didn’t want to take too much time to eat. Also, there was an Angelina’s (famous for their hot chocolate apparently) too but after contemplating, we decided we would try the hot chocolate at the other location.
The rainbow at the garden of Versailles. It looks like a fairytale.
The sunset created a beautiful color to the palace.
At the train station, we were a little lost as we tried to determine which train to take. It wasn’t so clear, and we walked back and forth looking confused. We weren’t the only ones though. We decided to try our luck on one train, tried to confirm with a passenger who gave us a wavering “I think so” answer, and we went with it. Luckily, luck was with us. We passed by familiar stations and smiled a little. Getting a little more used to travelling and navigating Paris, we impulsively decided to get off at the Tour Eiffel stop. We didn’t really know the directions, but we followed the most telling sign, a couple of strangers. No really, that was our plan of action, although we were also using common sense and heading towards the direction of the towering symbol of Paris while following the couple. We walked along some dark bike lanes, sorry bikers, holding tight to each other. We crossed the street and immersed ourselves with the plenty of tourists. And then we finally saw it.
The Eiffel Tower shining yellow and white
The Eiffel Tower shining purple and pink. It was a nice surprise for us.
The Eiffel Tower was originally built as a temporary structure for the 1889 World Fair to mark the 100-year anniversary of the French Revolution. However, the tower became a permanent structure after surviving criticisms, World War I and World War II. And here we were at the most well-known symbol of France. The Eiffel Tower was lit with white/yellow light. And then it started blinking and dancing. That was really cool. We continued walking along the sidewalk until we reached the underbelly of the tower. Here, there were hundreds of tourists and maybe Parisians also, hanging out in groups, taking pictures of and with the tower, and absorbing in the feeling. There were also street vendors selling Eiffel Tower items, such as statues and key chains, and bright things. We walked underneath the tower to the other side for another view. And then the tower turned purple/pink! I am not sure what the occasion was, or if they do this often, but it was a beautiful sight, to see the tower lit up in so many colors and ways.
It was getting late, so we headed back on the train. We got off St Michel to catch the bus home. However, we were pretty hungry so we decided to look around for some food in the area. The area seemed to be a place a lot of people hung out at night. It must have been 8 or 9 pm by this time. We examined the different cafés and menus, and settled on a small pizza place with decent prices. The pizza place was off of a busy street, which was buzzing with people. We were wondering what the street was, but didn’t get the chance to find out. Our stomachs were calling. We ordered a pepperoni pizza and snails.
The escargot was in a buttery sauce, which I didn’t favor.
The image says it all.
Not sure this was the best match, but we had to try the famous French escargot. I didn’t enjoy the snails; I don’t think it was the snail taste or texture so much as the buttery sauce they slathered the snails in. My sister said it was okay, and being the mean sister I am, I left her to finish the plate herself. The pizza was also only okay. It tasted like pizza back home. I guess I have to be in Italy to try the real thing. So far, my favorite pizza place has got to be, no matter how cliché this may sound, this one pizza place in New York City called Supreme Pizza or something like that. The best pizza ever! The waiter at this restaurant was really nice and attentive. He helped us get on the Wi-Fi and asked if we wanted him to take the picture for us. Another stereotype blasted: French people are really nice and helpful!
With our stomachs happy and our feet tired, and wanting to make sure we didn’t miss the last bus, we headed back to the apartment. Since it was our first time taking the bus in this direction, we were attentive to make sure we didn’t miss our stop. Everything went swell, and we got home about 11 pm. We felt more comfortable in this new city and were excited for our next adventure.
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