RANDOM RAMBLINGS

Versailles
Versailles definitely deserves its own post because it was an experience. After cramming onto a crowded metro for 40 minutes, we emerged in the town fo Versailles. Turns out, Chateau de Versailles sits in the town, on a hill, overlooking the main street. We were following a confused crowd of tourists, when I looked to my left and said “oh, there it is.”
At the end of the street, was the Versailles Palace, and it was mobbed. The palace is massive, just massive. About 1000 people were crammed into a weaving line before its entry point. We waited over an hour to go through security.
Inside the golden gates, we could marvel at the facade in a slightly less crowded courtyard. Trying to avoid the line, we moved through the women’s chambers — seeing the rooms of prominent women in the court. They were on the ground floor, with beautiful ornementation and views of the gardens.
Then, we waited in line for entry into the Hall of Mirrors/Grande Chambres. Trying to avoid the frenzy of tourists oogling at a video of the chateau’s history, we stumbled into a wonderful exhibit in the “Crusade Rooms.” Being a history nerd who loves the Crusades, I spent a good 30 minutes looking at Papal Bulls and books ranging from the 10th to 19th century on Jerusalem and the Crusades. The doorways were awesome, adorned with the crest and name of famous crusades (Guy de Lusignan, the King of Jerusalem, among others).
Having exhausted every opportunity to avoid the queue for the Hall of Mirrors/Grande Chambres, we launched ourselves in with the tourists. It was a sea of people with each room mobbed by at least two tour groups and hundreds of other tourists. It was hot and difficult to see anything except the ceiling. The Hall of Mirrors was amazing, but looked small compared to the sheer number of people inside.
Tired of the people and being crushed into walls and doorways, we next explored the gardens. We went to Versailles on Sunday, since the fountains run during the afternoon. I would not see the Versailles Gardens without the fountains. The gardens were massive and it was easy to get lost, stumble out of the woods, and discover a large fountain. Entry for the “Music and the Fountains” was 6 euros (the gardens are usually free), but it was worth it to walk through large hedges, listening to classical music, and viewing fountains.
If you don’t want to pay 6 euros, you can go down to the free gardens near the Grand Canal and also view all the fountains. We stumbled down that way (not realizing there was a difference) and rented a row boat to take out on the lake. The row boat really showed the size of the palace.
Of course, it suddenly started pouring while in the boat and we were the chased inside an overpriced restaurant. But, frantically rowing back to the dock in the rain was awesome. We also had to walk back up through the gardens (in the rain) to get to the train station — it was nearly empty, evening, and beautiful.
Bottom line: It was too crowded to really appreciate Versailles. I’d go back during an off month, but only if I could see it with the fountains. The gardens are beautiful with or without the fountains, but I would only be satisfied if I could see them while running.

Paris
Flew into Charles De Gaulle (the worst airport ever) about a week ago, but didn’t have the time or internet to make a proper update about the trip. Luckily, the McDonalds in Tours has free wifi (without an access code) and cheap food.
Our three week, two country, whirlwind vacation began with five days in Paris — the city of lights. Our apartment was near the Champs-Elysees (street pictured above and rumored to be the most beautiful street in the world), so we spent quite a lot of time walking around the Arc de Triumphe and, well, the entire city in general. Why metro in Paris when there’s always a monument or fountain around every corner?
Paris itself is a whirlwind of activity — drivers on the sidewalks, tourists and people everywhere, monuments on every corner, and beautiful architecture (and food!). The city had more green space than I initially expected — parks were everywhere (and great for just sitting and watching the water flow down the Seine). While the Champs-Elysees was like New York (noisy, full of tourists and popular stores), St. Germaine was perhaps my favorite area for its narrow alleys, great bars, and monuments (we passed Les Tres Magots — a bar frequented by Hemingway).
Our immediate neighborhood was pretty expensive, but unfortunately there was a disappointing number of patisseries/charcuteries/fromageries/bars. Yet, we managed to find some great restaurants. The most exciting restaurant was Pierre Gangnier, a three star (the best) Michelin Restaurant, where three waiters served our table nearly 9 courses of food — ranging from foie gras to squid-ink bread. It was an amazing experience and definitely a once-in-a-lifetime type thing. Perhaps the most memorable moment came when Pierre Gangnier (the chef) walked out and personally greeted each table. After greeting our table, he immediately critique a waiter who placed a serving tray horizontally, rather than vertically, on a side table (“no! This way!”). Of course, we also frequented the Paris Flagship McDonalds (a far cry from Pierre Gangnier) and ate some McBaugettes (not great). But, you can buy beer in European McDonalds!!
Having bought the Pairs Museum Pass (a bargain for anyone who likes museums), we spent most of our time frequenting museums and monuments. The Eiffel Tower, for all its touristy-ness, was actually awesome in person and the Arc de Triumphe was massive (and the view was well worth nearly dying on the way up the spiral staircase). We visited a few lesser known museums — the Rodin Museum was perhaps my favorite, with its large gardens with beautiful views of Napoleon’s Tomb and the Eiffel Tower; however, the Musee de Cluny (medieval art) had a lot of awesome 10th century objects (my personal favorite period). Unfortunately, it’s most well known piece — the tapestry the Lady and the Unicorn — was under restoration, which was pretty disappointing (we did see some fragments). The Musee de Orsay’s exposition on Dark Romanticism was pretty awesome, showcasing works focusing on the devil, witches, visions of hell, and dark landscapes from Goya to Dali.
The Louvre itself deserves an entire paragraph. I’m not really sure how to describe that museum. It’s arguably the best art museum in the world — with 35,000 pieces of art in three different buildings. But the Louvre was also the French Royal Palace, so the building and halls are also amazing. Like all tourists, we immediately rushed to see the Mona Lisa. The Italian Renaissance Hall was just amazing, and overwhelming. Its a long stretch of marble floors and high ceilings with masterpieces from Botticelli to DaVinci crammed onto the walls. The Mona Lisa was like a rock concert — people falling over themselves and thrusting their cameras high in the air to see the most famous and well known painting in the world. She was pretty awesome, but not worth getting trampled. And, you can’t even get close enough to see the brush strokes on the image. That in itself was fairly disappointing. After running to see Mona Lisa, we wandered the halls for nearly three hours, overwhelmed by the architecture and paintings. In the end, the Louvre was too massive and its impressive artwork went over my head. Three hours was enough time to see a fragment of the work and most of our time was spent looking at Renaissance frescos on the ceiling and passing by painting after painting. I’d go back — but I’d visit the museum slowly and over a period of days rather than trying to see the entire thing at once.
The weather was also freezing! Last time I visited Europe, I died of heat exhaustion from Madrid to Sorrento. This time, however, it was cold, cloudy, and raining. But, still beautiful.
The only snafu came when I lost/had my phone stolen during our last night (it was in my purse at a restaurant and not in my purse 20 minutes later), which caused us to miss our beautux parisienne (river cruise).

What is My Life?

Turned in my thesis to four different locations this morning, which allowed me a nice, but hot walk around campus. It was kind of bittersweet actually — my final drop-off was in Wren. Walking down the ancient, wooden steps and closing the large front door behind me was kind of sad. I had officially finished all my obligations as a undergraduate.

I graduate on Sunday and immediately leave for Paris on Tuesday. When I get back from Europe, I get about a month and then start work. And, then there’s the rest of my life.

2 notes

pandabearonthepiano:

Dear Paris,
Just wait for me. We’re going to meet and I promise that! :)
Love, Me

the-absolute-funniest-posts:

This post has been featured on a 1000notes.com blog.

acollectionofnothing:

eastcoastlovely:

Shields being towed in on a calm Wednesday night in Newport, RI.

so excited to sail at home :)