Today was our trip out of Paris to Versailles. Versailles, the palace made by King Louis XIV, from where he ran his state of affairs. Its surrounded by beautiful manicured gardens, fountains, a must see along with the Chateau.
It rained throughout our visit. We took the RER C train to Versailles at eight in the morning and were among the first ones in the line. Sitting at home, reading about the trains to take or the things to see, seems very cumbersome. Once we reached the station, it was so easy to get the tickets, and thankfully I had made the reservations, so we were able to go in quickly.
My husband listened to the Rick Steves walk through Versailles, while I downloaded the app.
It is basically a tour through ornately decorated rooms in a huge castle. We walked through their bedrooms, and the study, the receiving room and the dining room, each more lavish in appearence than the one before. The most beautiful was the Hall of Mirrors, overlooking the gardens. We could not appreciate it fully on this cloudy, overcast day, so maybe another trip is due. Well, I have to go again because I missed the gardens due to the torrential rain that day.
The ceilings had beautiful sculptures and paintings, each room having a different one with some significance related to season or god.
We spent a couple of hours here. I liked the daughters rooms, the stories behind each room’s decor, though the daily routines followed by the family open to public viewing is something I cannot understand. I am so sad that I lost all the pictures and the videos I had taken at this point.
We had hot chocolate and a croissant at Angelina’s Cafe in the castle. Hmmm, I don’t think I have found a good hot chocolate drink so far. The ones here at home seem so watery, even from Ghirardelli, but this one felt too thick and slightly burnt. Keep on the quest!
Since it was raining hard, we just decided to head back to Paris. We took a short break at the hotel and in the afternoon went to Sainte Chapelle. This used to be a church but is now considered only a monument. It’s a church like interior surrounded by stained glass windows. Just beautiful. The windows seem to glow like jewels. We sat there just trying to grasp the enormity of this project.
There are 15 windows depicting 1113 scenes telling the story of the world, right from its inception to the present day. The work is so intricate, one can see the folds in the robes and the facial expressions of the people.
Later we walked down the street to Shakespeare and Company and I spent some time in the store. Its quaint and crowded, slightly musty smelling, books on all the walls and tables, dimly lit in places, lots of nooks and crannies and old couches for people to sit and read. There was someone playing a piano. Nice.
We came out and walked past the cafe at the corner, and that’s when it happened. The imperfection that has to accompany every event to prove that nothing in life is perfect.
I opened my umbrella and put my phone in my pocket to hold the umbrella in my left hand, felt a push on my shoulder, and I don’t know why I thought of my phone. I put my hand in my pocket to check, but thought I must have put it in my bag, checked that, then thought I must have left it in the store and ran back to check. Of course it wasn’t there. It was only then that I realized someone had stolen it.
Then it was a rush to go to our hotel room, cancel the two cards I was carrying in the phone, ask AT&T to cancel the coverage. The main problem was that I hadn’t placed a lock on it. Extremely silly, I know, but what can I say. I had just bought the phone a couple of months ago and hadn’t set it up properly.
We went the next morning to make a police report, and the lady officer very kindly told me that no, they would not be looking for my phone, there was no chance of finding it, they get 40-50 stolen phone complaints everyday, they don’t have the time to look into it. They make the report only for insurance purposes.
I had thought this would dampen our mood, it did mine a bit, but the next day, after the visit to the police station and getting our covid testing done, we took the metro to Montmartre and Sacre Coeur. My husband insisted on going, and I am glad we did.
Montmartre is where the artists wrote, painted, acted and sang. Van Gogh, Picasso, Degas lived here at one time or another. It’s the artists colony, home to the Moulin Rouge. It’s situated on a hill from where you can see the whole city.
At its very top is the Sacre Coeur, the Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Paris. It’s made of a beautiful white stone, the inside is gorgeous, with vaulted ceilings and stained glass windows.
I am so glad we made this trip. It was a beautiful sunny day, blue skies, white clouds, people, crowds, it was like a festival outside. Inside the church the atmosphere was solemn, with admonitions to hush at regular intervals.
We walked down from the church through the winding streets of the town to the Moulin Rouge with the red windmill, and then we walked back to our hotel. From the 18th arrondissement to the 7th, it took us a couple of hours. The feeling of walking down the streets of Paris, with its cafes, the apartment buildings, the grocery stores and the boulangeries/bakeries, the people going about their daily routines, it was…amazing.
The next day we took the metro again to the CDG airport and back to the U.S.A. Our seats got upgraded to premium plus, so that was nice!
I enjoyed my trip to Paris, in spite of the stolen phone. We covered all the tourist spots, the museums and the buildings on my agenda. What did I miss?
The Mundolingua museum which is about the languages of the world. It was a 5 minute walking distance from our hotel, but the opening hours did not match up with our stay.
The wall of love-Le Mur des Je T’aime-near Montmartre but missed I don’t know why.
The Versailles gardens missed due to the rain.
And all of the above are very good reasons to go back. One day.
