After sleeping in this morning, it was out for a long day exploring the royal palace in Versailles, then back to Paris!
Versailles… another huge palace, this one surrounded by a huge garden, private canal, lots of trees, sculptures, and more! After a long line to get tickets, it was straight into the palace to see the royal chambers, with a brief look around the art gallery with a few indoor sculptures.
Every room, from the formal entertainment rooms, to the bedrooms and even the bodyguard rooms were incredibly decorated, with lots of paintings, statues, and many ceiling paintings that must have taken months, if not years to complete. Gold, marble used everywhere. The royal palace takes about an hour to finish walking through, especially with lots of school children out on a tour. Interestingly, this is where the Queen Marie Antionette was chased out by rebels during the French revolution. Though they failed to capture her here, they eventually got her and imprisoned her in the Concierge.
The gardens are just an exercise in extravagance. Perfectly trimmed bushes, lots of
statues and art… I wonder how much the royals spent on hiring artists and commissioning paintings and statues. The pre-19th centuries must have been grand. One thing amuses me though… I wonder what the kings and queens would have thought if they knew that these days, their private bedchambers were being shown off to thousands of tourists who take photos of their artwork, and their beds and private belongings every day!
Back to Paris in another train ride, though hitting Paris at what I think was rush hour is a pain when you have luggage. Since the sun only sets at 10pm, I figured that after dinner, hitting up the Eiffel tower and trying to get sunset photos would be a good idea! The tower is about 15 minutes from the new hotel. Managed to get some great photos of the tower while the sun was out. Keep in mind this is about 7:30pm. Dinner was escargot at one of many restaurants around the tower. It was still light out at 9:00pm, and there was a long line to go up to the tower. My plan for catching the sunset seemed to be working.
Of course, this is the day that the clouds decide to come in at the last minute, blocking out the sun and making everywhere look overcast… Still, managed to get a few good night shots of the surrounding area, and of the tower itself. The tower lights up for 10 minutes every hour, flashing brightly in what looks… almost gaudy.
Strangely, I seem to be hitting major events all over Paris. Just opposite the Eiffel tower, there was a large concert going on. It was definitely a major event, with lots of Parisians dressed up, mostly a younger crowd. Later, after returning to the hotel, I found it on one of the channels, some sort of music festival, with people going wild. I don’t think the concert started until around 9pm, and it was still going on at midnight! I guess the French do stay up late, unlike the U.S. when everything shuts down at around 6-7pm, latest 9pm. 