Paris, Part Deux

The next day was our trip to the Chateau de Versailles! The day before, we realized that we had pretty much seen what we wanted to see in the city, and since we had been wanting to check out Versailles but weren’t sure if we’d have time (it’s basically a day trip, since it’s 30 or 40 minutes from the city center and is gigantic). So when we realized that we had plenty of time, we decided to go for it. We took a cheap train (and got to sit on the upper deck!), which got us to the Chateau area pretty quickly. When we got there, we thought we’d have to pay around 15 euro for tickets, and that just to see the palace itself. But when we showed our student visas in hopes of getting a discount, they told us that we could go in, free of charge, to see every part of Versailles that we wanted! And then, we decided we would go pay to get audio-guide headphones that tell the history of the palace as you walk, since we didn’t have to pay for tickets, but again, they were free! The guy said, “Are you under 26? No problem.” So we were super happy after all this. This trip has taught us that it apparently pays to be young! And it got better from there – the palace was absolutely dazzling. The sumptuous rooms were covered in gold, rich fabrics, portraits, and beautiful paintings and architecture on the ceilings. And the Hall of Mirrors was something I’ve always thought it would be cool to see, and it definitely didn’t disappoint. Wandering around that luxurious place and hearing about its history was one pleasant way to spend a morning, that’s for sure.

We went to eat lunch after seeing the palace – there was nowhere really to eat in Versailles that wasn’t a snooty-looking restaurant, so we headed down the street to yet another McDonald’s to eat our pack lunches, and we bought a small item each so it looked like we belonged there. After that, we went back to the palace grounds to brave the cold and see the gardens. The grounds were very beautiful, though we couldn’t help thinking that it would have been a lot more pleasant to come in the summer when the fountains are going and all the plants are growing. Also, I lost my hat along the way, which I was sad about, until we decided that we were super thankful that it wasn’t something important/irreplaceable that had been lost. Anyway, we marveled at the sheer size of the place as we walked the long pathway to Marie Antoinette’s personal chateau, the Tairon. It was a bit anticlimactic after the extravagance of the castle, but it was still very beautiful, and it was really fun to imagine what it would have been like to be Marie Antoinette –sweeping along those hallways and garden paths in huge hoop skirts, entertaining friends in the pretty salons, having private balls in the great hall, and waking up to the sunrise every morning in the huge, curtained canopy bed. And the pink marble columns and delicate furniture with pretty colors and patterns made us think that this is definitely where a classy chick like Marie would hang out, though we wondered why she would want to spend so much time so far away from her husband like that. But then, I guess that’s how those arranged marriages went sometimes. I still wish I could remember more about that history! I’ll have to read up on it, I guess.

By late afternoon, we decided we’d seen all we wanted to see of Versailles, so we headed back to Saint-Michel to look around. We found a great store called Monoprix, which has pretty much everything, near as we could figure, including a grocery store where we bought more treats and some milk. Next, we decided it was high time for dinner, and went to a pizza/pasta place that we’d liked the looks of earlier. We knew it would be a little pricey, but we decided we could afford to splurge since we hadn’t paid a dime for Versailles. And oh, my gosh…eating at that restaurant was a fantastic decision – the atmosphere was so cozy and wonderful, and we had the best pasta of our lives there (I really should stop using so many absolutes…but it’s true!)!! I even decided to order some crème brulèe, which was also extremely delicious. And I bet not too many other people can say that their first crème brulèe experience was in Paris, France! And after our longish metro ride, we had some of the treats and a lot of the milk that we’d bought, which continued the gastronomic ecstasy. We were so happy after that we couldn’t stop laughing, neither on the metro, nor when we were getting ready for bed. The people around us probably thought we were crazy, but we didn’t care. Our tummies were pretty much in love with us by that point, and we were brimming with happiness! What a wonderful night.

The next day was our last day in Paris. We had planned on going shopping at the mall at Les Halles since we didn’t really have anything else we wanted to see, but found out that the mall is closed on Sundays, which was rather disappointing – we didn’t even think about that possibility. We heard that there are still shops open around that area, though, so we checked out of our hostel, checked our bags into the secure room for the day, and decided to go anyway. When we got there, there really wasn’t too much open, but we did find a couple of fun things. We eventually made our way to Champs d’Elyseés once again, and discovered that we were right in thinking that there would be more places open there. Apparently that’s one of the few parts of town that’s open on Sunday, because the streets were packed with people – it was kind of intimidating to look down the street and see this huge, undulating crowd of shoppers. But we braved the mob and ended up going into quite a few places. Lauren found the cute pair of boots she’d been wanting, and I found a cool shirt to wear with leggings, for surprisingly cheap, considering where we bought them. And I’m excited to be able to say, “I got this on Champs d’Elyseés!” hehe :-) We also had a fun time checking out the swankiest, most expensive drugstore you can imagine! I felt like I didn’t belong in there, but it sure was interesting to see all the beautiful and/or intriguing things.

After returning to Saint-Michel yet again, doing a bit more looking around, and getting food for dinner and the ride home as well as some last-minute treats at Monoprix, we went back to the hostel to use the kitchen one last time, get our bags, and get ready to go. Even though we’d had the time of our lives, we were more than ready to go home. We were in a weird state of mind – we missed somewhere, but weren’t really sure if it was Paris, Pamplona, Concordia, or our real homes. It sort of felt as though we didn’t really belong anywhere, or didn’t really know where home was. But then, we decided that home is wherever we are. At this nomadic stage of our lives, it’s best to just determine to feel at home in many places.

After a dinner of some yummy microwaved pizza and some more milk, we got our bags, freshened up a bit, and got on our last metro ride of the trip. We got to the train station with plenty of time to spare and got on our train as soon as the platform number was posted. We were excited to see what first class would be like (it was cheaper to go late at night in a sleeper car, for some reason, so we were like, “Why not?”), and it was definitely kind of cool. We each got our own little top bunk with plenty of space for luggage, our own light switch, a little sleeping bag and pillow, a water bottle, and a little pack with earplugs, Kleenex, and a wet-wipe inside. I felt sorta high-class :-P Also, the couple that was in the same compartment with us were really nice, and the lady made sure that we knew how to get in and out and was kind of motherly to us, even though she didn’t speak much English. We appreciated her so much, and were really glad that she made such an effort to communicate with us. And we were excited that we had from 11:00 at night to 7:00 in the morning to sleep! I found it pretty easy to fall asleep (even though I was sleeping in my clothes), what with the comfy bed and the rocking motion of the moving train. It was really disorienting, though – the man in our compartment shut the shade before we left, so I couldn’t even really tell which direction the train was moving in, only that it was moving. So I had a couple of claustrophobic moments, but I made it. And I did get some sleep, which made things look a lot brighter in the morning than they would have. At around 7:30, we got off at Irun, and then caught our TOPO pretty soon afterward. When we arrived in San Sebastian, there was a bus ready and waiting to leave right at 9:00 to take us to Pamplona, so we were glad it worked out so perfectly. A short bus ride later, we were back in Pamplona, happy to hear Spanish instead of French being spoken all around us and to see familiar places! It was a great trip, but it was definitely time to come back.

And so, to wrap up this novel :-P, I have a few conclusions about our adventure to Paris. About the city itself – I love Paris and don’t regret a single second or a single penny that I spent there, but I am not a fan of the people; they just make you feel much less safe than other places, and I’ve lived too long in the Midwest to be able to tolerate the higher amount of rudeness that one encounters. But then, for every rude or unpleasant person we ran across, there was a kind, helpful person who was there for us when we needed them. So, it evens out in the end.

And as Lauren and I talked about on the way home, there are some things that can be drilled into you but that you never truly learn until you figure it out for yourself. One life lesson that we learned through this experience is that God loves us so much and is always there for us – there were so many serendipitous moments that proved this – the fact that getting to and from Paris went extremely smoothly and easily, our perfect timing again and again with our travel connections, the many times when we had to pay less than we thought we would, the random people who helped us just when we needed it, finding the stores that had the things we needed (or even just wanted), getting amazing roommates after the first night, and so many other things. Another lesson is that less is more – it’s great to travel sometimes, but we couldn’t handle doing it all the time; we’ll be content to stay in Pamplona for some weeks now, I wager. A third lesson is that sometimes you have to be tough and not let people mess with you, but that’s much easier to do with a friend. Two people who trust each other are unstoppable! And finally, we learned that we really are confident, independent, capable women, and we are able to go to a new country where we don’t know the language and get by just fine, keeping ourselves safe and sound all the while.

So basically, I can’t imagine a better trip. We experienced so much, walked about a squillion miles (just when I thought my legs couldn’t get any beefier…), learned some important things about ourselves and the world, and just plain had a fantastic time. We made some memories that I know I won’t forget for as long as I live. The only things that would have made it better would have been warmer weather and family members to share our experiences with! I thank God for protecting us and going with us every step of the way on this wonderful trip, and I’m so glad I went. It was a once in a lifetime experience!