out and about: Day 4: Paris

Versailles Lake

Our last day in Paris! We started our day off leaving for Versailles at 9am. It was only about 30 minutes outside of Paris on the double-decker metro train but the line we waited in when we got there took a little over an hour. It had to be the longest line I’d ever seen—at least half a mile in length—wrapping around the courtyard of the chateau. The inside was naturally impressive although strikingly similar to Windsor Castle. I was more impressed actually by the gardens! We walked all the way over to Marie Antoinette’s Estate but didn’t have enough time to go inside it unfortunately (plus there was another long line outside it). So we left Versailles and went back to Paris in time to catch a boat tour with Bateaux Mouches! We then hurried over to the Trocadero Gardens for a few jumping pictures in front of the Eiffel Tower (how could we have forgotten them?). Brendan also realized that he had forgotten to try macaroons which he had wanted to do there so we got the most delicious chocolate macaroons after walking do the Champs-Elysees. Another thirty minutes of walking and we were already back at the hotel to grab our bags before grabbing the metro from Gare de L’Est over to Gare de Lyon.

We boarded the train with ten minutes to spare. Just as the train should have been leaving an announcement (in French) came over the loud speaker but since I’d assumed it was saying “oh we’re leaving now…” I didn’t bother paying attention until I saw everyone groaning and collecting their things. Someone said we were switching trains. I’d love to tell you why but I never asked hah. We settled in to our new train and coasted away into the dark for two hours. I’m hoping that Italy and Germany have trains as comfortable as the TGV! The seats were great and had plenty of leg room (which Brendan was loving).

Around 11pm our train arrived at Gare de Lyon Part Dieu where we stared at a map and then a few ticket machines before figuring out how to take the tram. A kind gentleman showed us the way. We took the tram through a seemingly dismal area before crossing the Saone River into what appeared to be a much nicer area of Lyon. As soon as we stepped off the train we found our way to a square filled with tents of homeless people. Perhaps it was just our paranoia but it seemed like one guy was following us so we waited by a hotel for him to go away. We went around the corner and finally found our way around the station to the other side. As we came down the escalator we passed another camp of homeless people. We made it perfectly safely to our hotel which is incredibly comfortable! It’s a really nice place called Hotel de Normandie. If you read the next blog post you’ll find that Lyon is a perfectly lovely city though :)

Thanks for reading!