Jardin du Luxembourg

We stayed near Park Luxembourg while in Paris and decided to take a stroll through it one day. The park is very pretty but was the "art" that caught our eye...

Church of Versailles

On our way back to the train from the palace, we saw a large church. Of course we went in and were rewarded with yet another beautiful church...

Versailles Gardens

The gardens in Versailles are absolutely stunning. I wish that we would have had more time to explore and walk around in them. They have all these little paths so you can feel like you are alone at times. The fountains are amazing. Unfortunately, we only managed to see probably about 1/4 of the area...

Versailles, part 2

Since Blogger wouldn't let me add pictures to the last post, here is the Versailles palace.

Versailles

Since I have developed a fascination with seeing UNESCO World Heritage sites, I really wanted to go to Versailles. Well, that and the people that I know who have been there have said it was amazing. So, on Sunday, we meant to get up early but didn't and eventually made our way on the train out there. As with everything else, there were lines, lines, lines. There was a line to buy tickets. There was a line to get in once you had your ticket. There was even a (long) line to go to the bathroom. There was a line for everything!

However, the palace was quite impressive. I liked that it had audio guide so that you could go at your own pace and learn a bit as you went (not that I remember it). I really enjoy seeing old buildings and learning the history behind them. It is quite impressive that the palace is getting close to 400 years old. It was hard to imagine the opulence that the royalty lived in but not difficult to think why the people wanted them beheaded since the people were starving. I must say that the throne was not nearly as impressive as some others we've seen, though.

Notre Dame

After the Rodin museum, we went over to Notre Dame. It was quite busy and as with most things in Paris, we waited in line to see the church. However, it was definately worth the wait and is quite impressive. It also had interesting light. After visiting the church, we went to a sidewalk cafe and paid 18 Euro for a liter of beer!! It was about 35 Euro for a crepe, glass of house wine and the beer. We paid the same amount for a 3-course meal in a different part of town. I guess it is all about location, location, location.