exploring

Bonjour mes amis!

Just getting back from a long day

and wanted to update with a few random

pictures from the things I've seen while walking

around the city and exploring new places, enjoy!

The Louvre from afar

Wine at the Eiffel Tower

...and again ;)

Eiffel Tower at dusk

My first attempt at duck &

 it won't be my last!

Creme Brûlée

Tour Eiffel

______________________________________

Today we had a little adventure to Versailles.

Got on the metro from my apartment to a stop

in the Latin quarter, then hopped on the RER

for a 30 minute train ride to Versailles.

Wasn't too sure what to expect, but was 

completely blown away but what I saw!

A little bit of a brief background:

Versailles was built in the 1600's and 

became very important when Louis XIV

moved from Paris to the palace.

He wanted Versailles to represent 

complete power, grandeur, and opulence 

so his wealth and taste for expensive

things so obvious that nobody could

not notice it.  Him and his wife, 

Marie Antoinette, were eventually

brought back to Paris and beheaded

during the French Revolution.

Today the rooms and grounds are 

preserved and open for the public to see.

The first half of our day was spent looking

around the inside of the palace, and at 8:00

we were able to go out into the gardens

where there were dozens of fountains

that were coordinated to go along with

the rhythm of music that was playing.

All of it was absolutely breathtaking,

so I'll let the pictures speak for themselves!

Painting on the ceiling in one of the bedrooms

(there are 2300 rooms in the palace!)

Paris meets Seattle with Nike tennis shoes

and Northface so that I don't get soaked

out in the gardens..classy style!

Looking down on the gardens from the palace.

Many of the huge fountains were located in

the thick forests on the upper left and 

right corners on the photo.

The gardens

One of many fountains

Chandelier inside the palace

Fountain at dusk.  The stuff floating around

thousands of bubbles from a bubble machine!

Each fountain had it's own theme or something

that was unique about it.

The front gates to Versailles

Inside the palace

The Hallway of Mirrors.  So grand!

We are having torrential downpours here on and

off all day (a few that I was stuck in in the gardens!)

and now it is coming down harder than ever with 

thunder and lightning..glad I'm inside now!

Bonsoir mes amis,

-Anna