I’m back after a crazy work week. Last week was super busy for us. I stayed in this weekend to catch up on some much needed rest. Hope everyone had a wonderful weekend! Time to recap my time away. I’ve missed Paris terribly and hope to be back soon.
After a long and crazy night in Paris, I knew I overslept to catch my train to Versailles. I woke up, showered and made my way to the concierge. I asked if it was too late to go, but he insisted they stay open late on the weekends. I ate some croissants and had an espresso next door at the café and off I went!
I had to catch 3 different trains to catch the train to Versailles because the one line that I needed to connect to was out of service. Go figure. Luckily the ride wasn’t that bad and I caught my train. I noticed a lot of Americans right away so I knew I was heading to the right direction. It started to rain when I got on. Unfortunately, I’m use to fast trains moving here in Chicago, and that is not the case on this train. Regardless, I enjoyed the view on the way there.
The train ride to Versailles is about an hour. I did not know where to walk to once I got off. The crowds were going in all types of directions. Once I ventured off I found the Palace of Versailles on my own. It was huge from afar. Little did I know how big this place was!
By the time I walked up to it, I didn’t have to wait long to walk through the gates. Once inside, that was a different story. I probably waited about 45 minutes for tickets. The lines were long and more and more people joined in. It was such a relief to finally get a ticket.
I made my way inside the palace (along with a couple of hundred other people). It was filled with so many people; it reminded me of being back at the Vatican in Rome. No matter where you looked, there were people everywhere. Most of them were classrooms of students listening in on audio. I tried to walk my way through as quickly as I could but it was impossible sometimes.
The best part of my visit was when that the rain cleared up. It became sunny and by this time, I was making my way to the Jardin de Versailles. I took off my jacket because it grew warm out. Not only could the palace host 4,000 guests, but the garden was just as impressive. I was a little skeptical when the pamphlet mentioned that it would take 2-3 hours to get through the garden, but they were right! I spent most of my time there and enjoyed every minute of it.
I took a moment to grab another espresso because I needed a pick me up. There are restaurants alongside the garden but you are not allowed to bring food out. By the time I left Versailles I was beat. I touched base with my friend across the street from the train station at Starbucks and headed back into the city.
After another hour long ride back to my hotel, I grew hungry. I asked the concierge what would he recommend for dinner and he mentioned Entrecourt; a French steak bistro. I must have been delirious, but it took me an hour to find this restaurant which was down the street from my hotel. UGH! I knew I couldn’t get out of getting lost ONCE in Paris! Oh well, what can you do? By the time I found it, the line was down the street to get inside. That’s when I knew this place was good. Unfortunately my hunger could not wait and I decided to go to Café de Flore nearby. I had French onion soup and to my surprise, saw on the menu that that they had my favorite champagne. It was a beautiful crisp Saturday night and I sat and people watched while I sipped on my exclusive treat! I couldn’t have ended it any other way. When I got back to the hotel, the concierge and I started to have an interesting conversation. He was different from the concierge I had when I first checked in, but was very curious to ask me where I'm from. We started talking about cultures and politics but he was a true sweetheart!
I had to get up around 7am to catch my train back to London at 9am. I opted to go back in and crash instead of another evening out. I didn’t know how the train schedule would run on a Sunday. It was bittersweet leaving Paris. I didn’t expect to enjoy it this much like I did. I wish I could have stayed longer.
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