Instead, I went to Notre-Dame de Paris, seeing as I didn't make it on Monday. I figured I could take my time, see the cathedral, do some shopping, eat some macaron, and just have a stress free, and mildly touristy day. I took the metro to the cathedral, and there were so many people there. I have accepted that everywhere I go in Paris, I will have to deal with a queue. There was a steady intake though, so I was in fairly quickly. It is a beautiful cathedral, and very grand, but it wasn't as phenomenal as it is supposed to be. I walked around the outside and the inside but it didn't live up to my expectations; I have examined the architecture, and structure, and I wanted to see flying buttresses! I decided that maybe if I climbed it, I would like it more. After studying the houses on rue du Cloître-Notre-Dame for about thirty minutes, I started the ascent to the hunchback's dwellings. It was much nicer up with the gargoyles, and I think seeing them (I have watched "the Hunchback of Notre-dame" a few times) made it more worthwhile, and I liked it better. I also got to see the bell that Quasimodo rings! I was able to glimpse the flying buttresses from there, but I think that the only way you can see them is from up in the air (the top was also closed that day, so maybe if I climbing higher would have seen them, and the structure better*).
Notre-Dame de Paris
The gargoyle reminds me of my childhood, watching 'The Hunchback of Notre-Dame'
The bell
the view
The rest of my wednesday was fairly no-fuss, but I walked around the Quartier Latin and went to Champs-Elysée to buy macarons... And waited 30 minutes in a busy Laudrée for a chocolate, raspberry, pistachio, and vanilla macarons. Yum!
it was difficult not to buy one of everything!
les macarons
That evening I made out for la tour Eiffel, to see it sparkle at night. I was a little wary of being alone in Paris at night, especially after the Sacré-Cœur incident. But I did have a whistle attached to my backpack. A man at my work suggested take a safety whistle, and I laughed at him for it. But I found my lifeguarding whistle on my floor as I was leaving, so I tied it on. That night I detached it from my pack, and have now started trending whistles.
I got to la tour Eiffel around 9, and it was still so light. So I pulled my self up a section of plush grass on the Champ de Mars, and waited for the sun to go down. I was harassed by people selling "beer, wine and (not) champagne", "10 eiffel tours for €5", flying birds, glowing flicky things... And also had about 5 people asking if I could take their photos, but really I just could be bothered standing up 6 or 7 times! Finally the sun started to go down, and the tour started to glow, that in itself was pretty, but I wanted sparkles. Finally at 11, after making friends with three Sydney girls, and surviving the brisk air, la tour sparkled, and it was worth waiting for. After four minutes of a sparkly tour, we all went to the train station together, and I was home by midnight.
sitting...
waiting...
wishing... that I wasn't alone at the sparkling tour Eiffel
On Thursday, I had my plans to go to Versailles. I took the train in the morning and thought I was smart by buying a ticket for the palace at the tourist shop on my way. When I got to the palace there was a huge line to get in. I felt extremely smart for pre buying a ticket, until I found out that it was my line. Lesson: priority access at Versailles is longer than buying a ticket at Versailles. But it was an absolutely beautiful palace. The audio guide told me that King Louis XIV wanted to make a palace more grand than any other palace in the world, and now, after being in about 5 palaces in Europe, I can say that it really is more grand that any other I have seen. The Galerie des Glaces is probably my favorite room in the palace, and the domaine de Marie-Antoinette are absolutely gorgeous. The grounds are huges filled with fountains, statues, hedges, flowers... I ate my lunch in the garden and it was very peaceful, despite the crowd. When I arrived back home in the evening I found a note from Holli and Jess, saying goodbye, it was really sweet, and they were beautiful girls to share a room with.
château Versailles
The Galerie des Glaces
one of the many fountains in the jardin at Versailles
domaine de Marie-Antoinette
Friday was my last day in Paris. I was a little sad to leave. I planned that day that I would go to Musée d'Orsay and then walk around an hopefully do some shopping. I actually liked the Musée d'Orsay better than la louvre; found that I liked the art that was in there, and it was more pleasant to walk around. The museum is in the old Gare d'Orsay, which was turned into a museum when the station became obsolete (like most other buildings that now house museums). It is also much smaller, and less overwhelming than la Louvre, so I was out in about an hour. I walked in the direction of my hostel, via the opéra, but didn't find anything to buy.
I had a very chilled out afternoon, I chatted with some people from my hostel, sat up at the Sacré-Cœur, and watched some extreme rollerblading. I went on a hunt for the cafe from the movie Amélie, les Deux Moulins, and discovered it to be quite run down, if not closed. I then found a very nice french boutique, and two beautiful skirts, thankfully there was also a 'soldes'! Ten minutes later, and a reduction in my bank account, I left with a gorgeous blue floral skirt, and a silk and leather skirt that I couldn't say no to!
extreem rollerblading!
He was going for a world record of the longest jump, or something like that (I read it in français)
the cafe where Amélie works
xx
*Apparently I could have gone 'round the back...
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