Paris Day 3!

Alright folks! Here is the third and final installment in my Paris blog trilogy! I dedicated the entire third day to the Chateau Versailles!

Once again, I was up and at 'em early on Day 3. I woke up at 7:00 AM again and was out the door by 8:00 AM. I checked out of my room, but left my luggage there again so I wouldn't have to carry it around with me again.

It was an absolutely perfect day in Paris! Thank God the sun decided to come out at least one of the days I was there!

The first place I went this morning was Starbucks. I was dragging a little and needed a pick-me-up. So, I bought myself a caramel machiatto and did some people watching. Thank God Starbucks is international.

Around 8:45 AM I hopped on the train that would take me to Versailles. It was about a 25 minute train ride; not too bad. Plus, I got to see other parts of the city. It was a short walk from the train station to the chateau. I arrived at the front gates around 9:15. I'm still taking pictures on my digital camera right now so I'm afraid I can't post any pictures from the beginning of my day yet. However, this is what the front looks like. Absolutely amazing!

I picked up the audio guide to help me tour the castle. It was amazing! And you're in luck! About halfway through my tour, my digital camera said that I didn't have any space left on my memory card. So, I was forced to switch back over to my camera phone! Here is the royal dining room!

Apparently, whenever the royal family was dining, the public were allowed to come and stand on the other side of the room and watch. Strange. Anyways, the chateau was completely filled with amazing artwork. Here is one of my favorites: a painting of Marie Antoinette being crowned by Napoleon.

It took me about an hour and a half to get through the inside. Then I moved outside to the gardens!

The gardens were absolutely HUGE! I walked through the first part of the gardens with my map in my hand (yeah you needed a map to get through this place). There were so many beautiful fountains, statues, and groves that you could explore. Then right in the middle was the Grand Canal. Here is the picture of the map so you can get a sense of how big this place was.

I spent about an hour walking through the gardens and groves closest to the chateau. This was the King's Grove.

A few more pictures from the gardens.

Around noon, I headed to the Trianon Palaces (which were the royal families privates residences) and Marie Antoinette's private estate. I toured through a few of the private residences for about an hour.

Marie Antoinette's private bedroom.

This wasn't an actual kitchen. This was just a "warming room". The kitchen that prepared the food for the royal family was in a different building entirely.

The King's billiard room. 

After I toured the private residences, I decided to walk back to the palace along the Grand Canal. 

It was gorgeous outside! I loved it!

So there is a small dock on part of the canal. This is a popular place for visitors that need to sit down and rest for a bit. While resting, we have some amazing company :)

There were about ten near the dock. They swam right up to you! Of course, they were expecting bread, which I didn't have any. But still, I could've literally reached out and touched them! Incredible!

There were a few sandwich shops along the Grand Canal. So, I decided to have lunch there around 1:30 PM. 

I can't get over how beautiful it is!

I sit by the Grand Canal until about 2:15 PM. After this I make my way back up to the chateau. This place is absolutely breathtaking! I could get used to living like this :)

By this point in the day, I am absolutely EXHAUSTED. I spent almost three days going crazy in Paris, walking at least 5 miles a day, and getting little sleep. My back, my knees, my shoulders, my feet, and my right ankle (the one I had surgery on...weird, I know) were KILLING me. I didn't have anything else that I wanted to see during this trip. So, I decided to head back to the hotel, grab my luggage and head to the airport early. I got on the train back to the city at 2:20, was on the train to the airport at 3:30 and after checking in and finding my gate, I settled down in the airport around 5:00 PM. It feels so good to sit down, because at this point, I am in so much pain. I guess 23 is the age when everything starts hurting :)

My flight left at 8:15 PM.

I landed at 10:15 PM.

I took the train to Vienna at 11:05 PM.

I hopped on the subway back to my street at 11:30 PM.

I arrived back at my apartment at 11:54 PM. 

Talk about a jam packed three days of pure adventure!

It took only three days for me to fall absolutely head over heels in love with Paris. I want very much to be able to go back someday (but maybe next time with company). I don't really have any highlight points of my trip because everything was so AMAZING! I can't pick a favorite so don't make me :)

I spent an amazing three days in Paris, and you know what that means....

99. Visit at least one other country for a weekend while I'm living in Austria.

NOW GO HAVE YOUR OWN ADVENTURE! 

As always, sending all my love to you! Four weeks til I'm home! :)

Kayla

P.S. As usual, have a good laugh. Enjoy!

Paris: Day 2!

Okay, back to my Paris adventure! The second day I was in Paris, I woke up at 7:00 AM, showered and was out of my hotel room by 8:00 AM. "Why so early?", you might ask. Well, I wanted to see The Louvre while I was there and a friend of mine who had been to Paris before suggested that I get there about a half an hour before the opening so I could avoid a ridiculously long line. So, I arrived at The Louvre around 8:30 AM.

And it's a good thing I did, too, because right around 9:00 AM (the opening time), this was the line behind me. 

I got into the Museum and right away went to find the inverted pyramid, like in the movie "The Da Vinci Code"! 

And of course, you can't come to The Louvre, and not see the Mona Lisa! She was a popular little lady.

And a lot smaller than I thought she was gonna be.

I strolled through the museum for about an hour and a half. I have to be honest though, it wasn't really as cool as I thought it was gonna be for me. Not exactly my cup of tea. But it's still cool to be able to say that I've been there. While I was walking through the museum, I walked right into this...

The Rose Line! Again, just like in the movie "The Da Vince Code"! Ah so cool! Where was it pointing me to: the courtyard just outside. Heck yes I followed it! I was on a quest!

I found three rose line plates total. And for those few moments, I was a Knight Templar :) It was fake, and in no way am I even slightly a Knight Templar, but it was cool to pretend. 

After I left the museum, I decided to walk through the gardens because I had spotted something in the distance.

The Place de la Concorde! This was the place in the city that Marie Antoinette and Louis XVI (and many others) were executed during the revolution and the Reign of Terror. I had to set foot at this historic place. And on the way there I got to enjoy a beautiful garden.

Finally made it!

This monument is located right next to the Seine River. And from where I was at I had a great view of the Eiffel Tower and the beautiful Point Alexandre III Bridge. 

Since I was by the river, I decided to hop on the Batobus. Basically it's just a water bus that takes you up and down the Seine. You can get off and on at any one of eight stops. It's just another fun way to get around the city. I hopped on around 11:30 AM and decided to hang out at the back of the boat. It was a gloomy, rainy day, but that didn't dampen my spirits. This is Paris! No dampened spirits allowed!

And I made a wish on the Seine River. Don't know if people do that or not, but I did :)

I rode the Batobus for about a half an hour, and right around noon, I hopped off at the Notre Dame stop. AMAZING!

I definitely went up into the bell towers, and toured the church! 

And that meant more steps...

But, again, SO worth it!

After exploring the Notre Dame, I decided to walk to the Concierge. Along the way, I ran into a few cool things. There were a lot of street vendors on the way. I tried on a beret, but looked absolutely ridiculous. So, I decided to get this hat instead. It had kind of a Frenchy feel to it and I thought it was cute so what the hell? Why not? 

I was so happy to find this bridge! I don't know if it has an exact name, but it's a love lock bridge. Basically, couple will come to the bridge and put a padlock or a ribbon on the bridge. It will have their names and the date written on it. This symbolizes that their love will last forever! So simple, but so beautiful!

I also ran into another crepes stand, and I HAD to get one :)

I got to the Concierge and did the tour through the museum. It showed us the conditions that the prisoners lived in and gave us a brief lesson on how the prison system was run back then. It also gave us a few history lessons of the trial of Marie Antoinette and other famous prisoners.

 This building is where Marie Antoinette's cell was located during her trial and the days leading up to her execution. A few hundred years back, the place where her cell was was converted into a chapel which served as a place where prisoners could spend their last meal and their last few hours of life. We could go into that very same chapel! Insane!

Okay ladies and gentleman, this is the point in my day, where my camera was running low on battery (yeah all the pics I've shown you so far have been from my camera phone). So, I decided to switch over to my digital camera. However, upon my return to my apartment in Vienna, I cannot for the life of me, find the cord to sync those photos to my computer. So, sorry ladies and gentlemen, but for the rest of the day, you're gonna have to go photo less, at least until I can get back to America and upload the rest to my facebook. My apologies!

At 2:41 PM, I got back onto the Batobus at the Notre Dame, and took that all the way back to the Eiffel Tower.

I hadn't really had anything else on my list of things to do for that day. So, I just decided to go on a walk and see where it took me. Around 3:45 PM, I ran into the Paris Aquarium and figured, why not? I walked around there for about an hour. After that, around 5:00 PM, I found the Paris Wax Museum. This was super cool because it didn't just have wax figures of celebrities. It had exhibits that depicted famous periods in French history such as famous French assassinations, the Renaissance, the Inquisition, the Black Plague, Joan of Arc, and Mozart playing for the royal family. Really interesting stuff. 

Right as I walked out of the Wax Museum, I ran into a gourmet chocolate store. Umm...yeah I went in! I got to try and few samples and I picked up a gourmet chocolate bar. It was delicious! Remember, no eating rules for this trip! 

I ended the day with an authentic French meal at a cute restaurant near the Eiffel Tower. 

I tried my very best to order pasta with alfredo sauce. When it came out it was shrimp pasta. Lost in translation. Oh well. I picked out the shrimp and enjoyed the pasta. Heck no I wasn't eating any shrimp! Eww!

After dinner, it was around 8:30 PM. So, I started walking back to the Eiffel Tower because a friend of mine told me that at night, every hour on the hour, the tower would light up with about a three minute light show! I had to see this at least once. So, I went to the middle of a nearby bridge and enjoyed the breathtaking light show! It was simply amazing! I wish I could put up these pics :( Just gonna have to wait a month til I get back to the States. 

After the light show I headed back to my hotel (again speed walking) and went to bed early. I had another big day planned for my last day in Paris. I dedicated all of Day 3 to the Chateau Versailles! But, you're just gonna have to wait to hear about that :)

Day 3 Blog coming soon!

Kayla 

P.S. This "The Office" clip seems pretty perfect for where I'm at :)