This morning we got up very early to go to Versailles. It made me very tired. We walked around the palace and saw the extraordinary wealth and extravagance of the royalty. You really get a sense of the ego of Louis XIV... After we lost Dr. Lorenz, we eavesdropped on various tour groups to learn about the palace. Between Michael and me, we could cover French, Italian, Spanish, and English tours. There was an Italian tour guide at one point who taught us about the hidden doors in the King's bedroom that led to the Queen's room and his lovers' rooms. I remembered learning about the hidden doors in Hohenschwangau that connected the King and Queen's room, but I didn't know he also had doors leading to his lovers' bedrooms. But it didn't really surprise me either. After we walked through the palace, we walked around the gardens and all the way up to the Petite Trianon. We walked right past it and didn't even realize. And by that time we had to go back for lunch so we didn't even bother to check if it was open.
After lunch, we went back to Paris to see the Eiffel Tower! The sky cleared up for a bit and we had sunshine and blue skies with white puffy clouds just in time for our touristy pictures. We went all the way up to the top, which did make me pretty nervous, I have to admit, but once I was at the top, I felt completely fine. It was actually more nerve-wracking to be at the second level than at the top. We found free wi-fi at the top of the tower (go figure) and tweeted some pictures of us at the top to UC Honors and snapchatted friends, so that was fun.
Afterwards, we tried to make our way to the Invalides to see Napoleon's tomb, but it closed early. Olivia's theory is that it closed early for French Veteran's Day. Maybe there was something happening there since it's still a veteran's hospital. But I was disappointed nonetheless because I was really looking forward to seeing it. Hopefully we'll be able to go back tomorrow or later in the week.
We thought the Rodin museum was closed at this point, but we went anyways, and it turned out that we had half an hour to walk around and visit. I saw the Thinker and some other interesting statues in the garden. It rained a lot, though. I got very wet. I took some pictures for my mom because she loves Rodin sculptures.
We thought the Rodin museum was closed at this point, but we went anyways, and it turned out that we had half an hour to walk around and visit. I saw the Thinker and some other interesting statues in the garden. It rained a lot, though. I got very wet. I took some pictures for my mom because she loves Rodin sculptures.
We went to dinner back in the student district and had couscous. I had the vegetarian couscous and it was delicious. We stopped for a crèpe afterwards, but it wasn't as good as the one I had in the flea market on Sunday, sadly. Erin really wanted to see the twinkling Eiffel Tower before heading back to the hotel so a bunch of us went with her to the Arc de Triomphe to watch from the top. It was really an amazing sight. I'm glad I went. The stairs were completely worth climbing all over again. The giant French flag was also hanging underneath because of the Veteran's Day activities, so that was really cool to see.