After two weeks in this whirlwind of a city, Lindsay and I were ready to get out of town for a day. We hopped on our local metro, got lost in a huge transfer station, and finally ran up to a train platform moments before it pulled away. After we were in full motion, I had the brilliant idea of asking someone near me if we were even on the right train. Luckily, we were. Phew!
A mere 20 minutes later, we pulled up to the Versailles-Chantier train station, which happens to be another 20 minute walk from the actual palace. During our journey, we made a couple wrong turns and ended up in a small square of restaurants. Even though we were two hours behind schedule, our rumbly bellies told us it was time to eat. Actually, we happened to be standing in front of a small joint called "Japan Sushi," so we figured what would be cooler than eating Japanese in France. Well, there is probably a lot of things cooler, but it was still worth the experience, especially for our hungry stomachs.
Once again, the language barrier made ordering a bit difficult. The authentic Japanese experience came with a waitress who seemed to be of Japanese origin, probably speaking some type of broken French. She's then paired with us English speakers, also trying to speak some type of broken French. In the end, we reverted to the old point and nod method. Surrounded by beautiful flowers and a cobblestone street, we remained immersed in the beauty of France while enjoying our asian snack.
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| Enjoying a quick lunch at Japan Sushi. |
After filling up on raw fish and miso soup, we continued our journey towards the Palace. We walked through a beautiful assortment of flowers for sale, and stumbled upon a small carousel. Of course, to two young women, this is a perfect opportunity for a photo shoot. To our dismay, but not to our surprise, the woman running the ride wasn't so enthused and quickly shooed us away.
Moments later, we entered the grounds of the royal palace. Our first sight- the three hour line to get in. Versailles is not unlike many other French businesses in that its hours of operation are very limited, meaning, we really only had a few hours as it was. We decided to hold off on the line, see what else was on the grounds, and potentially come back. Well, we ended up getting sucked into the beauty and culture of the enormous property, and unfortunately didn't make it back in time.
Instead, we discovered some other amazing sights. First, we strolled through the beautiful royal gardens, stopping at every fountain and sculpture to snap a picture. We mused through a maze of high bushes and found a small italian ice cream shop tucked in the corner. Yum! We finally found the domaine of Marie-Antoinette and the Grand Trianon, furnished with the most remarkable pieces I have ever seen. Each room had a theme centered on a certain color, print, or even expensive stone. We ogled at the decadent chandeliers and the dark, shiny woodwork. It is truly fascinating how the properties have been restored to imitate their original layouts. Visiting the smaller monuments has convinced us to plan another trip to Versailles in order to see the Royal Palace.
On top of all these fascinating experiences, I must say my favorite part of the day by far, was when Lindsay and I rented a row boat on the massive royal lake. The renters only have a handful of boats so the lake is wide open and uncrowded as tourists and natives alike glide smoothly across the water. On the first beautiful day in a week, we figured what could be better? Well, needless to say, Lindsay and I were not as smooth and serene as the many people around us. We struggled at first, taking turns to see who could actually get the small boat to budge. It was like our boat was doggie-paddling, while all the others were doing a perfect breast stroke. Finally, we agreed to each take one side. Eventually we inched our way out to the middle, and decided to float and relax. Okay, it wasn't actually to relax, it was to have a mini-photo shoot. So, while many of the other boaters enjoyed a romantic date on the water, we took full advantage of being in a beautiful moment with a girlfriend, which means lots of pictures.
After our 30 minutes were up, I took over the paddling and got us impressively far. As soon as my confidence was swimming laps, we had our first "fender bender." Luckily, we were close enough that one of the crew just pulled us back in. We may not have left feeling like pros, but we certainly left laughing.
We were finally making our way off the grounds around quarter after 6, when we noticed the gates that were blocking off our exit. We decided to follow the other flocks of people heading down a small alley to the right. Luckily we did, because we happened to meet two fantastic locals who offered to show us how to get back to the train station. They were an older couple, whose three kids were on holiday for a month with grandparents, so they had time to kill and enjoyed the walk. As we walked, we learned about all the places they had been, and how much they appreciate when locals are willing to take the few minutes to help, so they simply wanted to pass it forward to us. After generously giving us thirty minutes and a couple miles of their time, they sent us on our way feeling entirely humbled and grateful. Going back to what I said in my last post, there is just no way to label an entire culture of people as "unkind." Hopefully next time a foreigner, stranger, or even acquaintance asks you for some help, you pass it on kindly.
As hard as we try to fit in with the Parisians, our best days are when we take on the city as tourists!
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