Bonjour from another cold, wet day in Paris!

May I start off by apologising for the typos – I am typing these blogs either on my phone or on my laptop when I am tired, and often the lighting is not so good.

This morning we set off to have a free breakfast which was part of the Paris Tourist Pass which we bought.  Sadly the bus did not arrive, so we had to change plans.  We bought take aways croissants from a bakery/coffee shop.  French croissants are the best!

We had a booked timeslot for the Palace of Versailles, and so set off for there – we are quite a long way from there in Monte Matre.  We had to take 2 Metros and then an RER which is a “normal” train – not an underground.  The Metros were fine, but the RER was another story.  We ended up on the wrong train, and so had to back track and eventually catch the correct train.  When we got to the station we walked to the Palace of Versailles in the cold, icy wind.

Oh my shattered nerves, the place is huge and there were 1000’s of people!  We found our way to where we needed to be and were admitted quite quickly.  At least we were out of the cold!

Well, that is where it all began.  They admit so many people that you literally herded through like cattle.  If you stopped to look at something you were pushed.  They keep warning you about pick pocketing in the Palace – ie the pick pocketers buy tickets to come in and pick pocket!  There were people pushing folk in wheelchairs – for whom most of us made way, particularly at doorways, etc, except for one nation who were in tour groups.  They continued to push everyone, including the wheelchairs out of the way.  The saddest thing to us what it was the one nation that we thought had the utmost respect for others.  Sadly, this has been the pattern right throughout our trip.

The Palace was interesting, but we cannot understand the complete opulence.  We know that it from that era in history but to see the gold and paintings, let alone the size of the rooms, etc baffles us a tad.

We really wanted to walk around the gardens but William was notified by email yesterday that as there was to be some concert tonight, we would have to buy additional tickets to enter the gardens.  We decided that this was too much, and so decided to leave after the Palace, and head back for the train.

We hopped off the train Notre Dame and went to the site.  They are still busy with the re-building after the fire, and so it is still closed.  We trotted off to another place for a free meal from our pass, which was Champagne and a gourmet toasted ham and cheese and chips and salad.  What a delicious meal.  The Champagne was not nearly as bitter as I thought it may be.

We caught the bus back to Monte Matre, and boarded the Petit Train, which is a mini train that drives on the road – ie a small truck pulling coaches that you sit on.  The route it takes is from the Moulin Rouge all the way up the hill to Sacre Crous.  It was lovely with fantastic views.

After this, we returned to our apartment for some feet up time.

At about 20.30 we ventured out to go up to Sacre Couer to see the city after dark – it was only starting to get dark at this time.  We walked to the funicular and went up the hill in style!  The city looked lovely as it started getting dark.  The Eiffel Tower was lit up at 21.00 – and although it was not dark yet, it was spectacular to see.

We then walked around the shops at the top of the hill and bought crepes and hot chocolate for supper – we were both still full from our late lunch.  Before taking the funicular down, we had a last look at the city of Paris from the hill.

When we got back to normal level, I persuaded William to walk to Moulin Rouge as on Sunday it was not completely dark…. The man agreed so we walked 900m to see it.  It looked so bright.  Now we are back at our apartment and ready for bed.

Tomorrow we are off to the Louvre.