July 1st, 2011
Woke up at 9:30am, I’d woken several times before that, but figured that the alarm was due to go off in half an hour, so there was no point in going back to sleep.
I lay in bed for a while before getting my phone, to finish the previous days blog and then published it.
After that, I tackled the shower. The hotel is nice, nothing fancy, but definitely comfortable. The shower has a mind of its own though, spraying water out of multiple locations, causing me to soak myself (and the bathroom) long before actually getting into the shower. Once I was done, I got dressed and woke Emily, who had hit snooze too many times.
When we were both ready, we headed to the RER station. Made easy because the taxi driver had dropped us there last night. We missed the first train, as it looked to be going in the wrong direction, but got on the second.
We were aiming for Versailles, and got as far as invalides, where the train, rather promptly stopped. The lights went out and… Yeah, didn’t go any further. Apparently, the RER likes to do that sometimes, just terminate trains for no apparent reason. It’s really helpful.
The timetable screen said the next train wouldn’t be for another half hour, so we grabbed something to eat and headed to the surface.
When we went back under, we went back to where the timetable said the next train would be, and waited. Nothing.
Eventually, we went back out and onto another platform, where again, it said the train would be, only for it to finally appear on yet another line. All the messing around meant that we arrived at Versailles pretty late in the afternoon.
Once there, we booked ourselves onto a guided tour. Groups of 25 are taken around the private apartment of the king. It was interesting and some of the stuff was really amazing to look at. A lot of walking though.
Because we arrived later than planned, we missed put on a lot of he gardens, we were out there for around 20 mins before the tour, but they closed at 4, and it was well after 5 before we were finished with the inside.
We stopped for something to eat/drink at a place near the station, before getting the RER back into Paris, getting off at the Eiffel Tower.
I had said when we were looking at it from across the water that despite how big it looked from there, it still didn’t do justice to just how big it is up close.
I remember from the first time I was in paris just how struck by the sheer size of it I was. When you eventually round the corner and see it in full for the first time, you can’t help but be in awe.
After taking some pictures underneathe the tower, we walked up the path by the gardens, hopping the fence at the far end and taking a seat.
And so began over an hour of taking creepy photos of strangers…
Most were unaware, making it, arguably, less creepy. Others noticed, despite our best efforts at subtlety, and soon we had to move. The sun was setting, so I suggested a trip to the Louvre, part to see the sun set over the Louvre pyramids, part to continue being creepy.
Which we did, to what is in our opinion, great success. We even made some friends, post-creep.
At around 10 – the end of any creepers day – we headed back to our hotel. Making it on to the RER this time, so no need for French taxi drivers. Boom!