We awoke early this morning to get an early start. I was pleased to learn that I can see the top of the Eiffel Tower from the bed in the hotel room.
Rue Cler, which is a very busy street during the day and night was very quiet at this early hour. The flower shop was the first to begin setting up their shop, followed by a few cafes.
Today, is the first day of Roland Garros (the French Open tennis matches), so Duane and Tari are headed over to spectate.
Jamie and I are headed to the Palace of Versailles.
The grounds are expansive and vast and the furnishing within the rooms and royal bedrooms were surprisingly intact.
After viewing the bedrooms, sculptures, paintings, and living quarters of the King and Queen, we grabbed some lunch and then we strolled through the gardens.
Next, we returned to the hotel where we met up with Duane and Tari for dinner
We finished the night by playing pigs with some wine and then headed to bed.
The views as we wait to board the bus for the ride out to Versailles. We took the metro from our hotel to the location of the tour company. As in previous trips we are always amused by the public signs Europe uses to inform their people of dangers. Just not sure why they had to show a human bunny in this one.
Paris is a city of style. I saw toddlers who were dressed better and acted more suave then I can and I am almost 40! Just like everything in Paris even the metro connections are stylish and classy.
Much to my surprise, the line moved rather quickly once the palace was opened. We highly recommend NOT waiting to get your tickets once you are there. This line was just for those who already had tickets. There was another entire area for those waiting in line to buy tickets there.
Statues
Versailles is bigger than life, when touring you are going to see more statues, rooms, and paintings then you though possible, It is amazing to think that at one point in history this was actually how people lived.
Here are few samples of some of the statues found while exploring the palace.
More Statues.....
Like many of the works of art through out Europe the detail on the statues at Versailles have to be seen to be believed. Especially on the statues of Louie, obviously it is good to be king!
From Statues to Paintings
The Coronation of Napoleon
One of the more famous paintings in the Palace is the Coronation of Napoleon. It makes perfect sense that this painting be here..... a painting about an ego maniac in a palace built by an ego maniac.
This is not my home
The part I liked best about the inside of the palace was wandering the rooms.
Time for a Selfie in the Hall of Mirrors. Looking back on it, I am not sure how we managed to get this pic. This was obviously one of the main attractions at Versailles, so it was very busy and pretty much shoulder to shoulder.
Works of Art... Desserts... Same Thing! As awesome as they looked it almost hurt to put a fork into them. They did taste as good as they looked though.
The Great Outdoors!
Post Card Perfect! With the backdrop of the palace and the beautiful blue skies this picture looks more like a post card. Funny thing was the couple who took the photo for us was also from Seattle (Bellevue actually). Small world, but you can always spot a fellow Seattle by the Seahawk logo on some part of their clothing.
After a long day at Versailles for us and a long day at the French Open for Duane and Tari, we stayed close to the hotel for dinner and ate at Le Petit Cler located right next to our hotel. Yep, that's right for some reason we had Malbec from Argentina to start our dinner..... not sure why that was.
I think I could have made a meal just out of the escargot alone. Nothing like a little, butter, garlic and snail to start off a meal. This restaurant was set up like a true Paris cafe. Tables were very close together and the restaurant was very busy. Because of the closeness of the tables, we had a great experience with the table next to ours. The table held two young American girls who were on their first European tour. They ordered the escargot but had no idea how to eat them or how to use the escargot tongs. Since they were seated next to Tari and I we walked them through how to use the tongs and pull out the snail. That of course led to conversations about what they had planned on seeing, what we had already seen etc. It was fun to share tips and tricks with them while we ate.
A girl (and guy for that matter) cannot live on escargot alone! Or so that is what Tari told me.. I still argue that it is possible. Either way, we also ordered Pâté. It was good, but it was no escargot!
When it came time for the main course, we decided on steak and chicken
After dinner, it was time for dessert. Since we were in Paris and not Italy I had to settle for sorbet instead of gelato. Just like Le Petit Cler, this was just outside of our hotel as well... much to Jamie's dismay as this meant I was expecting sorbet every night.
Rue Cler is very busy during the day, it is amazing how quite it becomes once the shops close. It is a perfect place to wander after dinner and enjoy some sorbet or in Duane's case some sorbet and a cigar.
What better way to end a night then with a cut throat game of PIGS! If you are not familiar with PIGS, it is dice game but with plastic pigs! Seriously what is better than that? How the pigs land will determine the points you earn. It is a great game to travel with as everything you need fits in a very thin, light weight sleeve.
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