Sunday 15 January 2012

Day 11 – January 15, 2011 – Tour of Paris, the Eiffel Tower, the Palace of Versailles, and Farewell Dinner

            Today we went on a bus tour of Paris to see all the famous monuments.  We then stopped at the Eiffel Tower and went to the 2nd level of it.  It was very cold up there due to the wind so we didn’t stay very long.  We stayed for our brief tour up there and then just took photos.  My mom and I then went down to the first level to see the skating rink.  It was an extremely small skating rink with a white mini Eiffel tower in the middle of it but nobody was skating.  Afterwards we got a group photograph in front of the Eiffel tower.
            Next we went to the Palace of Versailles.  When I first saw it I couldn’t believe my eyes.  There was gold EVERYWHERE.  The architecture was so detailed and there were so many things gold plated.  Statues lined the edge of the roof in so many places, and the palace itself was ridiculously big.  It is no wonder it took 50 years to build!  Inside in the state apartments I was blown away.  There were paintings on the walls and the ceilings with gold in every room.  It was impossible to see all the detail; everywhere you looked there was something different to see.  Even the mouldings were carved showing different things.  When you see the palace, you really have no sympathy for the royalty.  It is no wonder that the poor people overthrew them and that the King and Queen got their heads chopped off (simple way of putting it).  They were obsessed with themselves and thought they could just have anything they wanted by taking it from the poor.  They had their bedrooms that were like 5 times the size of mine with paintings everywhere and silk on the walls and bedspread with silver and gold sewn into it.  Apparently those bedrooms were used so that they would wake up to 100 people in their bedroom who would help them get dressed and ready for the day.  It was called the Rising of the King whenever he woke up.  They also had private bedrooms for themselves as well that the later King and Queen made for themselves.  One of the Kings owned over 300 wigs and would apparently wear 6 different wigs a day depending on what he was doing.  The gardens were gigantic with perfectly pruned hedges and fountains everywhere.  Sadly the fountains weren’t running when we were there since it’s the winter.  Even though the palace was breathtaking and unbelievable to see, I still can’t believe that they had everything they had.  There were over 2000 rooms in the palace, and it seems like a mini indoor city to me!  They even had royal stables that used to house 200 horses and many carriages as well.
            After Versailles we then came back to the hotel to relax.  Next we went to our Farewell dinner which was one of the best meals yet I thought.  Everyone else had salmon, but because I don't like fish they made me chicken instead which was VERY good.  After dinner we then listened to 60's music on the bus ride back while waving to people on the streets (It's a TRAFALGAR tradition apparently :P).  Trafalgar was the name of the tour company we were on.  We then had to say bye to everybody but overall the tour was very enjoyable.  It was a tad fast paced but we got to see so many things we probably would have never seen if it wasn't for the tour.  Now my mom and I are on our own in Paris until Wednesday when we leave for Glasgow.  We change hotels tomorrow as well.