Paris day 4: Versailles

Today we took the Metro (Line 8) to Invalides and then transferred to Versailles via the RER train. After some initial confusion at the ticket machine (which seemed to falsely indicate that it took credit cards), we finally made it. The lines and crowd at Versailles were incredible and the place was overrun with tourists. But by buying a personal tour for an extra 7 euro, we managed to skip the lines and get in ahead of the crowd.


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Versailles was unbelievable. The only thing more incredible than the ostentatious palace was the enormity of the manicured grounds. The entire rear of the palace contains acres upon acres of gardens, forests and ponds, all surrounding a giant plus-sign-shaped body of water. We walked around the entire perimeter of the main plus-shaped lake, which is roughly 4.75 miles. I will include some pictures below, but it is impossible to capture the magnitude of Versailles on film.

Paris Day 4: Versaille Palace

Last night we walked to a couscous restaurant with Adrien for dinner and afterwards took the Paris metro back west near the Seine, then walked around for a few miles, seeing the beach at the Seine (an annual festival where the city makes an artificial beachfront on the river and truck in sand and palm trees), Notre Dame de Paris at night, the City Building, and some of the oldest parts of Paris, dating back to the 1200s. We also stopped for ice cream at a small shop on one of the islands in the Seine - it was incredibly good.

Today we are heading to breakfast at a place Adrien recommended, then taking the metro to Versaille, the palace of Louis XIV, famous for its grandeur.

Walking around the Seine at night:

Paris day 3: 12 Miles Through Paris on Bike

This morning we walked down to the Cathedral of Saint Eustache and then rented bikes for the day for 10 Euro.

We took a circuitous route, which you can see HERE, all over the city that encompassed roughly 12 miles. Our first stop was Notre Dame de Paris, then we biked through the Louvre to Place Vendome to meet up with Adrien for lunch. We enjoyed an authentic French lunch of hams, cheeses, bread and wine in a lunch deli, and then biked up the Champs-Elysees to the Arc de Triomphe. After stopping at the Arc, we crossed the Seine again and headed to the Eiffel Tower. After stopping at the Eiffel Tower (no, we didn't go up the tower), we biked through the Parc du Champs de Mars, saw Les Invalides from afar, and headed southeast toward the Catacombs. Unfortunately, the Catacombs are closed on Mondays, so we stopped for espresso at a local cafe and then biked back down the Boulevard Saint-Michel, re-crossing the Seine, and passing by Notre Dame again, before returning the bikes before their 6 pm curfew.

Our route:


Cathedral of Saint Eustache






Notre Dame de Paris:


Place Vendome:


Arc de Triumph:




Eiffel Tower:




Les Invalides:

Paris Day 2: The Louvre

Last night we hung out around Adrien's neighborhood, got some sandwiches and ate them in the park. We checked out a show by a band that features one of Adrien's friends, and later walked up a series of hilly, curving streets until we reached the steps of the Basilique du Sacre-Coeur that overlook the entire city. (This is the picture at the top of the blog page, compliments of Wikipedia).

We slept in fairly late this morning, and then went with Adrien down to a local bakery to pick up some croissants for breakfast. We then walked down to the Louvre (about a 30 minute walk) and had some coffee before heading into the museum. It was a pretty crowded day at the museum, but the collection is amazing. We then headed down to the Seine riverfront and the surrounding parks. There were great views of the Eiffel Tower, the Arc de Triumph and the Cathedral de Notre Dame. We then walked back to Adrien's. We are going to head out for some Indian food later tonight.

The Louvre, from the outside


Crowd surrounding the Mona Lisa


Da Vinci's Mona Lisa


Ceilings at the Louvre




Venus de Milo


Seine River, Paris


Eiffel Tower and Seine River

Paris

We took our 1:31 train from London to Paris (only a two hour trip) and have now arrived in France. It is a beautiful city with balconies draping every ancient building around every curving street. We are staying with a friend of Brian's who lives in a gorgeous, old fourth-floor apartment that has been in family for generations.


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London Day 2

For Day 2 in London, we took the tube downtown and then grabbed the tour bus (ticket is good for 24 hours) and went to the Tower of London. It was an interesting tour, equipped with quite a long history of the English monarchy (mainly a series of rulers torturing people for alternate religious or political beliefs), including the crown jewels (which were a bit anti-climactic).

My bag was finally delivered at 4:45, so I was very relieved to have clothes and toiletries finally. We then went over to a beer festival with our host, Peter, and his girlfriend, Erin (another recent bar examinee who will work at the same Philly firm as Brian).

Inside the Tower of London:


View of Tower Bridge from inside the Tower of London:


Church where William Penn was baptised:

London

Made it to London alright. Flight was on time and relatively comfortable - I lucked out and got the first row of economy class, so plenty of leg room. I slept most of the flight.

Unfortunately, the airline lost my bag (along with an entire cargo crate full of other bags) and I will not get it until sometime tomorrow. Luckily, all my valuables were in my carry-on and my checked bag only contained clothes - still quite a hassle and not a good start to the trip.

We took the subway ('tube') from Heathrow to Hammersmith, the area of London where we are staying (Brian's attorney-friend's boyfriend's apartment - with Brian's attorney-friend arriving tomorrow from the U.S. as well). After walking around aimlessly for a while in the confusing, curving roads of London, we finally found the place, dropped our stuff off and headed back to the tube to go downtown.

Once downtown, we grabbed a tour bus and saw all the highlights: Buckingham Palace, Big Ben, Parliament, London Tower, Thames River, Tower Bridge, The Globe Theater, Westminster Abbey, etc. It was a good way to see everything quickly and get a feel for the layout of the city. London is massive and sprawled out for an enormous amount of land. It is very busy and heavily populated, but relatively clean. The subway system is extensive and efficient, much like NYC. Everything here is expensive - prices feel about right, but they are in pounds, so it is actually twice as much.

All in all a good start to the trip - I just hope my bag arrives safely tomorrow. Here is a map with the location of the apartment we are staying pinpointed:
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London


Westminster Abbey