So much has happened in the past two weeks! Two Sundays ago, I ventured out to the market at Porte de Clignancourt, which is really cool when you venture deep into it. At the front there are lots of stands selling pretty generic stuff, but once you venture in there are some pretty classy (& pricey) antique shops.
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| You can buy a carousel here! |
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| & of course the classiest store on the block had the classiest name on the block |
Last Tuesday I had the pleasure of more visitors! This round it was my mom and Greg. With no classes on Wednesday, we headed over to Versailles. Now I must say to anyone who has visited Versailles in tourist season: you are basically a saint to me. It was worth it to see the gardens bloomed, but i'm not exactly a fan of long lines (seriously worst than disney somehow) & tops of strangers' heads in all of your pictures. When we first arrived (& I'm sure those of you who have spoken to my mom have already heard this story) I got into my first tête à tête with a french cashier when she decided to question my visa/student status. So we may have ended up waiting a little longer than necessary when I refused to buy it from her, but it was worth it cause I am now officially sassy in two languages. The Palace was amazing, but I would have to say my favourite part was without a doubt Marie Antoinette's Hameau. The Queen built her own adorable little country village after Rousseau's belief that getting back to nature was good for the soul. It was by far the most impressive part of Versailles; complete with its own windmill, dairy farm, & buildings with tulips on the roofs!
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| (Post Mom's Visit: An Attempt to Dry Laundry) |
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| I am not quite sure how this picture was managed with no one else in the background! |
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| Royal Chapel |
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| I'll be honest, this reminded me of Reese... |
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| Thrones |
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| Hall of Mirrors |
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| King's Bedchambers |
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| Elephant Saddle in the Hall of Mirrors |
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| Queen's Bedchambers (i want/need to move here) |
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| In case you need a throne on the go, Versailles has them |
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| Huge Paintings & Large Crowds: Versailles has 'em |
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| Mom & Greg |
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| Grand Trinon |
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| Grand Trinon |
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| Grand Trinon |
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| Grand Trinon |
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| Grand Trinon |
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| Temple of Love |
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| Temple of Love |
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| Temple of Love |
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| Temple of Love |
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| Marie Antoinette's Hameau |
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| Marie Antoinette's Hameau |
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| Marie Antoinette's Hameau |
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| Marie Antoinette's Hameau |
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| Marie Antoinette's Hameau |
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| Marie Antoinette's Hameau |
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| Tulips on the roof! |
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| Pretending to live there |
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| Marie Antoinette's Ferme @ her Hameau |
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| So many hidden discoveries at Versailles! |
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| Grand Trinon |
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| Colonnade Grove |
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| Ballroom |
The next day, I woke up early to meet at 10 for the opening of the Catacombs to beat the lines. Unfortunately, it seems other people know about these lines, but being there on time reduced our wait to only an hour and a half (my patience was tested much this week). Anyways, afterwards we picnicked in the Luxembourg Gardens, before I had to run off to class.
On Friday, we once again started the day with the dead, and went to the Pantheon. We went to the top for an awesome view before heading down to see the crypts. Afterwards, we went to St. Etienne du Mont, whose rood screen I wrote about before, and was in use for Good Friday. (not to mention every cross in the whole church was covered) Then we walked over to Notre Dame where literally hundreds of people were lining up to kiss the cross of thorns. Considering we were on a roll with churches, I then took the fam to see my personal favourite church in Paris: the Sainte Chapelle. Which was great to see again, and made me have an even greater appreciation for Paris in the winter time (aka tourist free). In the afternoon, we took a boat tour on the Seine before finishing the day up with a trip to the Louvre.
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| Climbing up the Pantheon! |
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| View from the top! |
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| Voltaire's Grave |
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| Marie Curie's Grave |
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| Louis Braille's Grave |
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| Victor Hugo's Grave |
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| Rood Screen in use at St. Etienne du Mont |
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| Kinda Creepy.. |
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| Crown of Thorns |
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| St. Chapelle |
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| St. Chapelle |
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| St. Chapelle |
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| Boat Tour: Mom & Greg |
On Mom & Greg's last full day here, we decide to spend it in my favourite neighborhood: Montmartre! Again, it was way more crowded than I am used to, but it was so nice to share my favourite neighborhood in Paris with the fam. Plus! I got my portrait done in the little square behind Sacre Couer.
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| My new favourite French drink: a Monaco |
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| Portrait Drawin' |
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| Photography by Mom |
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| Still goin' strong 30 minutes into a portrait that was sold at 10 minutes |
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| No sign of stopping soon |
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| Only way to survive |
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| 20 minutes later |
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| Probably another 20 minutes later |
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| almooooooooost thereeeeeeeeee |
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| Fin! |
Sunday the fam was gone, but I had a perfect easter with mimosas and a beautiful array of pastries on the Champs de Mars with some friends. Then yesterday we went exploring Chateau de Fontainebleau, which has been around for 8 centuriesof French Kings! It was used as a hunting chateau and was where Napolean signed over his empire and bid "adieu" to his troops.
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| Easter Picnic! |
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| Foret de Fontainebleau |
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| Foret de Fontainebleau |
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| Chateau de Fontainebleau |
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| Chateau de Fontainebleau |
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| Chateau de Fontainebleau |
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| Chateau de Fontainebleau |
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| Grands Appartements |
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| Chateau de Fontainebleau |
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| Grands Appartements |
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| Grands Apparements |
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| Trinity Chapel |
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| Galerie de Francois I |
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| Francois's salamander emblem |
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| Perhaps the Most Beautiful French Wood Beamed Ceilings |
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| More Awesome Ceilings |
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| Dome |
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| Chateau de Fontainebleau |
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| Chateau de Fontainebleau |
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| Gallery of Diana (this holds 16,000 volumes from Napoleon's original library) |
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| Napolean's Throne Room (only one left in France that still has its original furnishings!) |
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| Chateau de Fontainebleau |
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| Trinity Chapel |
| Another good couple of weeks, it's so hard to believe I have less than a month here. Expect lots of updates as I will be trying to cram so much stuff that I have left to do in the last month! |
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