Hangin' out with the royals...

On our third day in Paris we took the train to Versailles to check out what else but the Palace of Versailles.  Ok, a little history lesson....Versailles became the center of political power in France in 1682, when Louis the XIV moved there from Paris, until the royal family was forced to return to the capital in 1789 after the beginning of the French Revolution.  It started out as a "modest" hunting lodge and was added to over the years to make it an enormous (I mean ridiculously huge) palace.  You know how that goes, you move into a place and think "oh I'll just add one more bedroom out back" then before you know it you have a house the size of a 4 shopping malls.  The palace has it's own chapel, opera house and multiple different "apartments" (which are really large houses) on the property.  This place was overly luxurious and somewhat gaudy from the get go.

Front gates of the palace

Painted ceiling in the Chapel of the palace

 A lot of the original furnishings have been removed and the rooms are more museum like, housing paintings and artwork from the palace.  I really like this sculpture below with a monkey riding a goat...why? I don't know it's just funny!

Ginormous paintings!

 The ceilings in most of the rooms were intricately painted with scenes depicting everything from love, war and biblical characters.  The molding was also incredibly detailed. 

Imagine how long it took to paint that ceiling.

Statue of Louis the XIV I think

One of the most famous rooms in the palace is the Hall of Mirrors. It was built in 1678 to connect 2 of the apartments. The principal feature of this famous hall is the seventeen mirror-clad arches that reflect the seventeen windows that overlook the elaborate gardens. Each arch contains twenty-one mirrors with a total 357 mirrors in the room. 

Hall of Mirrors

View out one of the doors into the gardens

One you walked through the Hall of Mirrors you entered the Queen's apartment.  The walls were covered with fabric that matched the bed curtain and lines. Could you imagine sleeping in that bed?

My favorite part of the palace was actually the gardens out back.  Marie Antoinette, the wife of the Louis the XVI, made the gardens what they are today.  She wanted a traditional English Garden and you know, "if mama ain't happy, ain't nobody happy" so the gardens were redone.  I'm sure the upkeep of this place is budget breaking!

 

The fountain below sat just outside the back of the palace and overlooked the lawn and pool below.  When we walked passed it wasn't on yet.

 

The fountains are only on for certain periods of the day and we were lucky enough to catch them come on.  

These guys have a big job keeping everything pollinated!

After a long day of walking around Versailles we headed back to Paris.  I wanted to check out the Eiffel Tower at night all lit up so we ended the day back at the tower.  It was even more dreamy and romantic in the dark!

  

The very next day our good friends (and Chad's co-residents) Katie and Devon were set to arrive in Paris!  I was super excited since we hadn't seen either of them in over 3 months.  Katie and I are shopping partners in crime so we new some potential damage could be done seeing as that we would be in the fashion capital of the world together!

Eiffel Tower Overload!

On our first full day in Paris I couldn't wait to go see the Eiffel Tower up close and personal!  On our walk over we stopped in a little patisserie for breakfast.  Since neither one of us speak French there was a lot of pointing and hand gestures...we managed to order a pain au chocolate (chocolate croissant) , beignet and 2 coffees.  Some version of this became our daily breakfast.  I don't know how the French stay so skinny because if I lived in this town I would weight 400lbs!!  They sure know how to do pastry, breads, desserts and just about anything high in calories and butter!! 

This little guy was sitting outside the bakery waiting for his owner.  Oh how it made me miss my Lola Belle!! I just wanted to squeeze his little smushed face...I didn't but I thought about it!

After breakfast we walked to the Eiffel Tower.  For me this was what Paris was all about.  I had to see the iconic monument to feel like I was really, truly in Paris.  The tower was built in 1889 as the entrance arch to the World's Fair and has become the identifying symbol of Paris.  The "iron lady" didn't disappoint and she was just as amazing in person as I imagined.

 On one side of the tower are the Gardens of the Trocadero with the Warsaw Fountain.  We walked up just as the fountains started! I didn't get a picture of it but the water and bright sunny day made a perfect little rainbow that stretched across the long pool.

 We also happened to walk up on a couple having wedding photos done!  How romantic to be married in the city of love and have pictures in front of the Eiffel Tower!  That being said I really wanted to tell all of those people to move out of the background of their pictures....I guess that's what you get at a huge tourist attraction.  Maybe the photographer can photo shop them out.

 From the garden and fountain you walk down and across the Seine River to the tower itself.  

Chad looking up at the 81 story tower!

On the other side of the tower is a tree lined stretch of lawn.  There were tons of people with picnic baskets and blankets sitting on the lawn enjoying the view. 

After I had taken about a million pictures from every possible angle we continued our walk around the city.  We walked along the Seine River heading for Notre Dame Cathedral. 

Statue of Thomas Jefferson along the Seine River

Another view of the Eiffel Tower...I just couldn't get enough!

 As we walked, we stumbled across the Pont de l'Archevêché bridge.  I had heard about this bridge and that it was tradition for couples to attach a padlock with their names to the bridge a sign of their everlasting love.  As part of the tradition you either throw the keys into the Seine River or keep them as a keep sake.  We couldn't pass this by without leaving our mark, so we bought a lock from one of the street vendors and added it the bridge.

Makes you wonder where all these lovers are today!

View of the river from the bridge

By the time we made it to Notre Dame the clouds had turned grey and it started to rain.  Luckily there wasn't a long line to get in and out of the weather.  Now honestly, as walked up all I could think about was the Disney movie....you know The Hunchback of Notre Dame.  I was fully expecting gargoyles and creepiness.  Well, in reality there is no hunchback or abundance of gargoyles adorning the building.  It was however a beautiful Gothic cathedral with gorgeous stained glass. 

After Notre Dame we hopped on the metro and headed back to the hotel for a quick nap in the hopes that the rain would stop before dinner. Well, the rain persisted but we strolled down the Champs Elysees and found a restaurant for dinner. I wish I had taken a picture of the dessert we had as it was quite possibly one of the best things I have ever eaten!  It was pan perdu (brioche French toast) topped with vanilla bean ice cream and homemade caramel sauce...are you drooling yet? It was such a simple idea and I could probably recreate it at home but it was SOOOO good!

Tomorrow, the Palace of Versailles!

I love Paris in the springtime, I love Paris in the fall...

Recognize that song? No, well it's Frank Sinatra and he was singing the truth.  After we left Edinburgh we headed for the city of love and lights. PARIS.

Now you may disagree but I think every little girl dreams of going to Paris with the love of her life.  Walking the streets holding hands and hearing romantic music in the background.  Strolling past the Eiffel Tower and stealing a kiss.  Well, there was no soundtrack to go along with our trip but plenty of hand holding!

Our hotel is what you would call boutique and it was AMAZING!  The decor was a little modern for my taste but the room had everything we could have ever wanted and a super comfy bed to top it off....on a tangent, most beds in Europe are terrible!

Crazy shoe chair in the lobby

Sitting area in our room

Hello comfy bed!!

Awesome bathroom with towel warmer, heated mirror and TV

Yes please!!

We were staying near the Arc de Triomphe so we headed out for a walk and to find some dinner.  Pretty much every meal we had in Paris was great.  Our first stop was a little cafe near our hotel.  Chad ordered steak and it came out with a show!  The waiter poured some kind of bourbon sauce over it and lit it on fire at the table...not sure if it mentioned that on the menu since it was in French.

You can't really see the fire in the picture : (

After dinner we headed for the Arc.  The Arc de Triomphe was commissioned by Napoleon in 1806 and honors those who fought and died for France in the French Revolutionary and the Napoleonic wars.  It has the names of all French victories and generals inscribed on its inner and outer surfaces. Beneath its vault is the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier which has an eternal flame that burns in remembrance of the dead who were never identified.

 You can go up to the top of the Arc...that is if you don't mind climbing a lot of stairs.  We decided to take on the challenge!  2/3 of the way up they have a little gift shop and area dedicated to all the triumphal arcs around the world.  Honestly, I didn't know the STL arch was considered triumphal but it was represented.

Picture at the top with the Eiffel Tower in the background.

 The view from the top was awesome!  I got my first glimpse of the Eiffel tower at sunset and it truly made my day.  Like I said, the little girl inside of me was having her dreams come true.

Eiffel Tower

 We made the long walk back down the winding staircase and headed back to our hotel to get a good nights rest before the next days adventure.  I made sure Chad walked in front of me in case I busted it on the way down...those of you who know me know I am not the most graceful : )

Stay tuned tomorrow for more pics of the Eiffel Tower than you have ever wanted to see!