Day 4

Today, upon reading the weather report that it was supposed to be sunny for once this week, we decided to take advantage of our good fortune and head to Versailles! It turned out to be the most GORGEOUS day we could have possibly hoped for, and it wasn't hot in the least, which was nice since these places are largely un-airconditioned.

We took the metro to the palace, which is located in the town of Versailles (about a 40 min subway ride). You get off the subway, walk a few blocks, and then ascend a VERY long incline up to the palace gates. It is not hard to imagine why the revolutionaries stripped it of so much of its original splendor when you see the utter waste and decadence of the decor and architecture. Peasants, many of whom lost children to starvation during this time, stripped the palace entrance of the 100,000 gold leaves that originally studded the gate. Then a slow and crowded tour begins through the opulent rooms and apartments, gilded to the brim and stuffed full of expensive fabrics, rare stones, beautiful furniture, and enormous, intricate murals. You then step outside and begin to tour the EXTENSIVE gardens. Seriously. There's a North Garden, South Garden, and and Main Garden that cover over 2,300 acres. There is a reason that the royalty employed smunderlings to bring over their horsies so that THEY wouldn't develop heel-spurs or the like, walking the gardens themselves.

On a completely unrelated note: Our beloved family pony, Brownie, died this winter (the exact month escapes me). I admit that her loss had not fully hit me until today, but I found myself wishing more than once that she could have been there with me, her wobbly, arthritic legs saving me the 5 mile cobblestone jaunt to Marie-Antoinette's Hamlet. :)

Catching the subway back to Paris, we hobbled on our swollen feetsies to our hotel, where we unloaded the over 350 pictures we had taken that day. We are currently at over 1400 pictures so far!

A troubling discovery was also made at the hotel. The trip is official, everyone! I have an extremely painful sunburn on my right shoulder (the other is still milky white) that I unwittingly earned touring the gardens! No vacation is complete without one!

After a quick rest, we scooted on over to see the sun set on the Eiffel Tower. We walked up to the first level and got some great city-shots, as well as some cool structure pictures as well. The most memorable experience of looking out from Eiffel was seeing all of the tourists gathered on Trocadero (a prime Eiffel pic spot) taking pictures of us in the tower. Many people had their flashes on, and the hundreds of flashing lights (predominately from that area but from all over the city) made Paris look as if it was sparkling in the sunset. So charming!

We now are in our hotel room, sprawled on the bed and rubbing our tired feet.

We miss you and love you all! Thank you for checking in on us and thank you all for giving me this incredible experience! :)