Friday Sept. 12th Versailles and Eiffel Tower

So, we got up early to head to Versailles...we grabbed a pain au chocolat and headed to the metro. We were able to purchase a ticket that would take us all of the way to Versailles, we just needed to do some transfers to get us where we needed to go. It was virtually painless although the metro was crowded, being a Friday. We got to the right train and ended up sitting next to a couple from Canada...they had just come from England...before the tunnel fire. When we arrived we got the all day pass which would get us into everything, and got the audio tour for the main rooms. Tim and I got separated again...it was somewhat stressful...but I was able to convince a man to let me in and find Tim...so that was okay. We were able to see the State Apartments, Chapel, most of the Gardens, Grand Trianon and the Petit Trianon. This is definitely a more than one day place to come. We walked most of it...we did break down and take the small train from the Petit Trianon to the end of the main garden. Marie Antoinette's english hamlet was very interesting. The main pools had rowboats that you could rent and paddle around in. The weather

was pretty nice...sun came and went. We tried to see a fountain that was blocked off, looked like they were setting up for something, maybe the pope? We headed back to the train station and decided to stop at a cafe for some snacks and beverages. We got on the train with an interesting assortment of people, a couple from California, a couple with a child from England, well he was stationed there, from Wisconsin, it was an interesting group of people. Tim decided that it might be great if we stopped at the Eiffel Tower before heading back. So...we stopped there...it was right on the Seine, and there were boats. I wanted to check out the cost and times of boat tours. Well, one was leaving about 7:30pm and it was only 7pm...so we decided to get a boat tour. Could not have been a better time...the sun was setting, the temperature had been dropping so the boat tour was cool! As we went by Notre Dame, the pope was there...there were crowds of people on either side of the river, cheering...the pope was on huge screens and there was a choir singing...it was incredible! Once back at the Eiffel Tower, we debated on whether or not we should just go up since we were there...but we hadn't eaten...and it was late. We decided we were there, why not...we only went to the 2nd stop, the wait for the top was really long...and I have heard that the top is nice...but the view isn't really the best for seeing the city. Now, I know my friend Wes will give me crap...I had told him years ago that he was NUTS for not even going up in the tower...now several years later, I am seriously thinking of not even going up...well we did the 2nd stop...the view was great, at night, the city was lit up. We left the tower to try and find out metro stop...after a lot of walking and fighting...Tim and I made it 6 days without getting on each others nerves...but that night, tired, hungry, cold...annoyed. Anyway, our metro stop was closed because of the Pope...so we finally caved and got a taxi. Our taxi driver was incredible. He was from Vietnam...trained in the US for the army, fought in the war, worked counter intelligence and fled with his life to the states, he lived in the US for only a short time, the racism was too much. He moved to Paris and worked with the government against communism. Once the Iron Curtain came down his job was no longer needed, so he became a taxi driver. I told him he should write a memoir! He dropped us at our hotel. We decided to eat at the cafe just below our hotel. I ordered onion soup with cheese again and fries, and Tim got a Croque Monsieur.

Both were very good. It was soooo late, we were so tired, once we ate, we went right to sleep!