Paris Part Deux: Day 3 & 4

Though day 2 was a whirlwind and wore me out it was necessary do that I could clear day 3 to go to Versailles.

Day 3: Musée de l'Orangerie and Versailles

Saturday, like the previous 2 days began early so that I could go to the musée de l'Orangerie with the group. The Orangerie museum, which is situated in the Tuileries garden, is a smaller impressionist museum. It is here one can find Monet’s Les Nymphéas, or water lilies. Though the museum houses other great works such as Renoir’s “Jeunes filles au piano” (“Young girls at piano”) the real sight were the water lilies. About 8 of them could be found there, each one taking up its own wall. It was a treat for me to see them not only because they are beautiful, but also because they are my mother’s favorite and I grew up surrounded by prints of them. Seeing them with her would have made it so much more special, but now I have reason to return with her in the future!

Monet's Waterlilies

After the museum two of my friends and I took the C train to Versailles. It was about a 30-minute trip outside the center of Paris and only cost us a few euros to purchase an extension for our metro pass, which was definitely worth it.

Once we reached Versailles it was only about a 5-minute walk from the station to the magnificent palace with its golden gates. I do not think I have ever seen anything as ornate as Versailles. In the front of the palace (as well as everywhere else in the palace) stood the Sun King himself, Louis XIV.

Versailles

Once inside I fully understood why the Sun King became so hated for erecting this palace. Every wall, ceiling and floor was decorated in gold, frescos, crystal, marble, and sculptures or in some cases all of the above. This was no low budget project. The palace as one can imagine took us a couple of hours to get through, guided by complimentary audio guides. The most ornate room and highlight of the visit was, as many may have guessed, the Hall of Mirrors. In this room, no feature was denied incorporating a long wall of mirrors that reached from the floor to the ceiling, gold trims, marble floors, a ceiling with magnificent frescoes, and spectacular crystal chandeliers. My family would probably joke that I loved this room because of all the reflective surfaces that I could look at myself in.

Hall of Mirrors

After touring the palace we briefly walked the gardens that reached farther than I could see. We only stayed around for a little because it was pretty cold and most of the plants were covered up for the winter months. I would love to come back in the spring when the gardens are in full bloom and the fountains are in operation. From Versailles we took the train back to the Eiffel Tower with the intentions of climbing to the top. However, once we got there the line was 45 minutes long and given that it was getting late (and my feet were aching) we decided not to wait. This was a little disappointing but yet again another reason to return to Paris. Following this we went to dinner and out on the town. (I am sure everyone is wondering how was the food in Paris and amazingly enough I didn’t eat any French food or drink any wine while I was there. We definitely took advantage of foods; such as the Mexican food we had the first night, which we cannot find back in Cannes.)

Gardens at Versailles

Day 4: Final Day and Return to Cannes

Like every other day Sunday started early with checkout at 9AM. The group taking a River tour on the Seine followed checkout. The tour we took was actually the same exact tour I took when I was in Paris for a night over New Years and I could have probably skipped it, but it was the perfect activity for me since I was completely exhausted. I just sat back and relaxed and enjoyed the scenery.

Following the tour we didn’t have much time before we had to head to the airport. So we went to the area with Les Halles (a huge shopping district) and grabbed lunch and did a little shopping. Not much was open because it was Sunday, but this was better so I couldn’t do as much damage. From there, our group of exhausted students left for “home” and we were back at the college by 7.

Despite how worn out I was by the end of the trip I am so glad I took full advantage of my time in Paris and I cannot wait to go back. So far, on record Paris is my favorite city in the world!