(T) Today we had 2 things on our list, the fact is you could dedicate an entire day to each one if you had the time. They were the Palace of Versailles and the Louvre.
First up was the Palace of Versailles which is easily accessible by taking the metro and with the nearest stop right near our hotel we were off to a flying start.
Well, the Palace is breathtaking and fills your entire vision as soon as you see it, lashings of gold in every corner of the eye well before you even get close to the gates. The view made it very easy to forget the lines and before we knew it we were in, the only problem we faced now was where to start....
The first section left us rather confused, there was modern contemporary furniture and sculptures in these lovely old rooms and it wasn't till we exited that we discovered this area was just an exhibit and not the main sections we come to see. PHEW!!!
Into the main area of the Palace and we were treated to elegance, riches, indulgence, beauty and history everywhere we looked. This was what we'd come for. We'd poured over a book on Versailles while we were staying with Marg & Doug and I can assure you nothing compares to being there, the shear scope of elegance here is something to behold. If you're ever in Paris just do yourself a favour and see it. Narrowing down the highlights is difficult; the Hall of Mirrors was spectacular and has the table where they signed the treaty to end WW1, the gardens are perfection and appear to be almost endless and then there's the art on the walls and ceilings. Oh and gold everywhere!
From here it was back on the train for our much anticipated visit to the Louvre. We arrived at around 3pm and to be honest a coffee was actually first on the agenda. With a 10pm closing time on Wednesdays we knew that time was one thing we had plenty of.
Now, most people line up and enter at the glass pyramid resulting in extremely long lines, however this is simply a security checkpoint and gets you to the lower mall and not the actual entrance. There is in fact a second and lesser known entrance further back which takes you to the same place in half the time. This is where we went.
First stop is probably obvious, the Mona Lisa. We muscled our way through the crowd and hit it front and centre, it was then truly a matter of holding our ground. After a few attempts we got some good photo's, people were using flashes which simply reflect off the glass protective case so timing was everything. This did give us time to admire the masterpiece from the closest possible position. There really is something about it that is hard to explain, it just draws you in.
We then set about seeing and appreciating as much as possible, getting lost is extraordinarily easy to do in here, although a pretty good place to lose your way. The art is amazing, the sculptures captivating and the maps confusing! Napoleons apartments were impressive, not unlike Versailles but on a much smaller scale, particularly his dining room which seats about 40 in complete opulence.
Our legs and brains gave out before we could see it all, you just have no idea how much there is to see or how massive it is until your inside, a full day and you might do it justice. There is literally thousands of years of history within these walls.
It was dark by the time we left de Louvre so we took some night photos of the famous glass pyramid before wandering down the river back to the Eiffel Tower to sit and appreciate it's beauty at night. With so much to see in and around Paris it was nice to just stop and absorb it all, in fact it's one of the few moments that we've truly done that. We ate crepes ( again ) as we gazed up at the illuminated tower and, as it does every hour, the dazzling light show started. What a way to end our last night in Paris!