Paris: Day Four

I woke up around 8 AM and I did some work (emails) while Sheila slept. We finally got ready and headed to the train station for our train to Versailles around 10 AM. We hopped on a train there and walked in the light drizzle to the palace. The first shock was seeing long snaking lines waiting to get in across the entire courtyard. The lines snaked back and forth across the entire courtyard – literally thousands of people shuffling along and more were coming in behind us! Sheila manned the line for entering the place while I stood in another long line to see if we needed to buy tickets first or whether our Paris Pass would get us in without getting a separate ticket. Luckily, as I shuffled along my line, I came across an information booth and they said I could just stand in the long line to get in. I walked along the line a couple of times before I found Sheila who was engaged in a discussion with some tourists from Chicago. We chatted pleasantly as we walked along the long line to get in. After entering, we stood in another line to pick up audio guides (since we had found them so enlightening at the Musee d’Orsay). This was relatively quick and we spent all day wandering the halls of the spectacular palace.

It rained most of the day, but would occasionally clear up and provide bright sunshine and blue skies. Then, it would just as suddenly get dark and gray and pour with rain. After we had wandered through every open room and heard the history of Louis the IV, V, and VI, and all his wives, sisters, brothers, etc., we decided it looked bright and sunny enough to pay to see the gardens. We walked through all the fountains and several manicured gardens before coming upon the Grand Canal at the end of the garden. The weather was great and they were renting boats. We couldn’t resist and took a rowing boat out on the water. I started us off and Sheila wanted to try. She did such a great job that I let her row the rest of the way. It was a fun 30 minutes. As we headed back to the palace, it started to pour again. Fortunately, we were done with Versailles and we headed for the train station.

We took the train straight to the Arc de Triomphe. Again, our Paris Pass let us bypass the ticket counter and head straight up 284 steps leading to the top of the arch. Again, breathtaking views greeted us. By this time, the skies had cleared and we really enjoyed our time at the top.

By the time we came down, it was almost 9 PM. We headed to the Hyatt to pick up our bags. We found a Moroccan restaurant (Chez Bebert) near the hotel and stopped there for a delicious dinner of Couscous and Chicken skewers. We finally hopped on a train to the airport and checked in to the Hilton Charles de Gaulle after 11:30 PM. We went to bed at almost 2 AM, pretty much ending our international adventure.