France Days 26-27: Paris - Le Big Pomme

We knew the next two days wouldn't be our favorite: we usually avoid big cities and huge groups of people but figured Paris is one city for which we should make an exception. We had a couple hour drive to get to Paris so we stopped halfway at Gaillard Castle.

Richard the Lionheart wanted a view of the Seine

As always, it's neat being able to walk around an 800 year-old castle all alone with magnificent views. We didn't stay long because there's a lot of steps to getting to Paris.

We had a place to stay in Versailles so we parked in a carpark there and took the underground to Paris. We haven't done much with subways or tubes or untergrundbahn so we were a bit nervous about using public transpo in such a big city. Turns out it's really easy, it just requires a lot of walking between stops.

I had been battling a cold and Cris' ankle wasn't at its best so this day wasn't destined to be great. Also, it was hot so a lot of stuff was closed, and the main train that goes right to the Eiffel Tower was closed for construction too. It was a whirlwind of bad news but we tried to stay positive. We did eventually make it to the sweaty tower. 

This was the main reason I wanted to go to Paris but I left underwhelmed. The tower is cool, that Eiffel guy knows what he's doing with metal, but the area around it just doesn't feel French. One side is a busy road, two sides are people selling Chinese trash souvenirs, and the last side is a nice enough park but it isn't decorated at all. So, it's basically an awesome tower sticking up out of a boring, trashy area. 

Our plan was to not walk very much so we got on a boat tour where you could get off whenever you wanted (well, only at the bridges unless you like polluted water in your nose). You could kinda see some neat things from the boat but mostly it's a taxi. 

We got off the boat by the Notre Dame and walked around what I think is the Latin Quarter. It was a city, that's for sure. Lot's of people running everywhere, a few cool buildings, and lots of food. We stopped for some sweets at a patisserie, they were terrible. The Notre Dame is cool though. 

We had a pass that let us get to the top of the towers but the line was over an hour long, and the same pass would get us in to Saint Chapelle but that was closed due to the heat. So, we got back on the boat and took the Louvre stop and then walked a really long way to Hotel de la Marine.

Weird triangle thing at the Louvre. It's crazy how big that building is.

Front porch of Hotel de la Marine

By the time we got back on the metro and back to our car it was pretty late, we were exhausted, and kinda felt like we wasted a whole day. I'm sure some of you are thinking "Paul and Cris didn't see the real Paris" which we do understand. I'm sure there are some cute out-of-the-touristy-area places that show the charm of the city. We were sick/sore, it was hot, things were closed, so we didn't enjoy it. But also, we aren't city folk. There is so much good food, amazing architecture, fascinating history, and fewer people outside of the city that I don't see a reason to go to Paris. 

Sorry for the downer blog post. We are still enjoying ourselves, I promise. 

Here's a bunch of blue lines in an old basement

The next day we woke up pretty early to be the first ones at the Palace of Versailles. A lot of people recommended we skip Versailles but we were pleasantly surprised. We got there before the big crowds and were able to take our time in mostly uncrowded rooms. 

The place is ridiculously huge and opulent.

We thought this was going to be way too rushed and full of tourists but we had a great time. Then I decided to walk to the Trianon which is just a short jaunt through the gardens away. 

What I didn't realize is the gardens are almost as big as France somehow. I walked forever, got lost once, and finally found the Trianon.... which was closed. It opened at noon so I texted Cris and told her to hop on the first train so after like 2 hours of me walking she got there 20 minutes after me. The petit Trianon is just a little cottage for Marie Antoinette with nice gardens. 

Yep, tiny little cottage

After those two crazy days we got out of Paris as quickly as possible and back to the countryside where we can relax. 

View of the vineyard from our airbnb

We're getting close to the end of our adventure, but now we're in Alsace which is the land of Gewurztraminer (Cris' fav wine) and delicious German food. 

If you're lucky you get a pretzel, but usually it's wet white sausage and a piece of white bread. Yum.