Paris: Woke up extremely pumped this morning, as we found out that the Canucks advanced to the Stanley Cup finals!

Versailles: Headed out to the metro at 8 am to try and beat the crowd to Versialles. Rick Steves wrote that it was a zoo, and indeed it was. We weren't quite sure which trains were right, so we kind of flubbed our way with the other tourists. Versailles is the last stop, so we figured we had a good chance of getting there.

We made it there just after 9 and rushed through the fairly still-empty entrance and baggage check. We could see the tour buses and the crowds descending!

Found a couple from Winnipeg and exchanged photo-taking duties with them. Then picked up our free map and audio-guide and made our way through the Chateau. What an overwhelming palace! It is definitely the epitome of opulence and luxury - everything was gold leafed and apparently, rooms were set up so the public could view the king and queen waking up, having dinner, etc. We found this information a little weird. The guide was supposed to take 1.5 hours, but with picture taking and tons of people, that time pretty mich doubled for us. There were lines to get in and out of each room and scores of tourists and tours everywhere.

What a breath of relief when we finally made it outside! Even though it was extremely hot and sunny, it was nice to be able to have our own space. We grabbed some lunch pour emporter and lined up for the hop-on-hop-off tram to go to the Trianons and Marie-Antoinette's Hamlet. Whew! What good exercise! We got off at each Trianon stop and walked the Hamlet. According to the pamphlet, M.A. Had this little village built for her and her children to enjoy country life. She had 12 buildings, some examples of which were a house, a farm for fresh milk, a dairy, a mill, and a kitchen (for warning her food), built around a little lake, You know, just for fun and to visit whenever she got tired of her castle. A make believe world at her disposal. Hmmm. Just for fun I told Pete I wanted a Hamlet too. His answer was no :D

After walking around the Hamlet and the two Trianons, we hopped onto the tram for the last stop - the grand canal. Here, people were sitting and boating around the gigantic pool. We trekked up through the gardens to the house, but didn't have the energy to go through each elaborate labyrinth.

At 5:30, we headed back to the train station to try and beat the crowd once again, but I think everyone had the same idea :(

Got back to Paris at around 6:30 and stopped at Champ de Mars. The plan for today was supposed to be Champs Élysées and L'Arc de Triomphe, but since it was such a nice day, we decided to suck it up and line up for the Eiffel Tower. Rick Steves noted to expect to wait 20 minutes for every 100 yards + 30 minutes for the lift. I don't know how much 100 yards is, but what I do know is that we waited for 1 hour and got up the lift in 10 minutes! We immediately shuttled all the way to the top, which made Pete a little jelly-legged, but I reminded him that each floor was nice and netted off - I don't actually know if that helped him though. We did a quick overview of the city at the top and then headed to the second level for a clearer view of the sights. Then we took the stairs down to the first level. The stairs weren't bad at all going down, but it took a while for us to get down b/c we stopped for *tons* of pictures. By the time we made it down, it was 9:30. I have to admit though, the sunset was beautiful and the view from the tower definitely didn't disappoint.

We headed over to Le Cafe Constant for dinner, a Rick Steves favorite and a Michelin guide recommended place. As a side note, I have noticed that Rick Steves is very, very popular b/c I've not only seen tons of people carrying around his guides to France, Paris and Europe, I've also seen a lot of tourists being at his recommended places.

Had a very delicious dinner: shared appetizer of a seafood tartare in oyster shells, crispy duck leg (me), and some melt in your mouth pike quenelle (Pete)