Day 13
We enjoyed our tour so much the day before that we decided to take another one. We used the same company, but today we were going to see Versailles. Versailles is just south of Paris and was the home to the monarchies of Paris.
We got up, took the metro and met the group at 11am. We were given a train ticket to and from Versailles. Billy was our tour guide again. We had a large group today. Billy mentioned that he normally only takes about 10 people a day, today the group was up at 40. We were excited.
We got onto our 40 minute train. On the way we rode past the mini Statue of Liberty. That was pretty cool to see. When we finally got there Billy took us to the chateau in Versailles. This chateau was not only huge, but also covered in gold. It was a sight to see.
For this tour we were not going into the chateau, we were looking at the gardens. Going into the tour we didn't know to much about the history. Coming out of the tour we learned a lot. We learned about the rise and fall of the Paris monarchy. We also saw an incredible garden. This was probably the biggest garden we've ever seen. I felt like it kept going and going. The tour was about 5 hours round trip. It was worth every penny.
When we got back from the tour, Jill and I showered relaxed and called up some friends that were also in Paris. The plan was to meet up with them, have dinner, then head to the Eiffel Tower. After a while of waiting we couldn't get a hold of the girls. We figured they must have already left. We decided it would be best to head that way ourselves.
We took the metro, and had to switch a few times, over to where the Eiffel Tower was. When we got their our friends, Ashley and Jaime, were not there. We decided to eat at a restaurant on the corner, that way we could spot them if they showed up. Just after our food arrived I spotted Ashely on the corner. Her and Jaime joined us for dinner. It was very good and very filling. We decided we needed to head over to the Eiffel Tower before it got to late.
Jill and I had bought tickets the day before, but since there was a strike we couldn't use them. I decided to ask if I could use them today instead. I was told, by the rudest lady I have ever met, that I couldn't. She told me I needed to fill out a refund form and get back in line to buy tickets. This annoyed me a lot, but I got in line anyways. The 4 of us stood in line for about 2 hours. When we got to the front we were told they were not selling tickets to go to the top anymore. They also said we could not buy tickets for tomorrow either.
At this point I was very upset. All I wanted to do was make it to the top of the Eiffel Tower. Also in tears I explained to the lady how I bought tickets for the day before so that I could go up to the top. I told her I wasn't going to wait in a 2 hour long line tomorrow either. Finally, after she saw how upset I was, she called her supervisor who gave us permission to go to the top! This was the best moment ever!!!
The sight was amazing. We were able to see the entire city. We took a few pictures and then headed back down. We said goodnight to Jaime and Ashley and headed for the metro to get home.
When we got to the metro we were told it was closed for the night. We weren't really sure what to do next. We decided the best idea was to take a cab. The only problem is we couldn't find an empty one. People around us were able to, but we had no luck. Finally, about 15 minutes later, we found an empty cab. He drove us back to our metro station. From there we headed home and called it a night!
Because we had to wake up early the past two days we decided we were going to sleep in today. We woke up around 10:00, made breakfast and hung out at the apartment with Gen for a while before we left for the Louvre. A few days earlier Billy told us about the secret entrances so we left the apartment and were on our way, only we didn't realize until we got to the metro that we had no idea where we were going. Luckily we are really good at reading maps so we found one with all the landmarks drawn out and found which line we needed to take.
Once we got there we were able to get right in. We walked around for a few hours looking at all of the different artwork, including the Mona Lisa and then decided to walk to the love bridge. Blair had previously bought a lock for us so we picked a spot, put the lock on the bridge and threw the key into the water. We stopped a lady and asked her to take a photo of us while explaining to her what we were doing, and what we threw into the water.
Once we got back to the apartment we watched a movie (Rock of Ages) while waiting for Gen to get back from her last masters final ever. We then all got ready for dinner. We ate at this cute little sushi restaurant before heading to meet up with everyone, including Ashley and Jamie for our pub crawl. We also found out that we could not pay for our meal with our American credit cards, so Gen graciously paid for the meal. On our way Blair met another guy named Billy who declared his love for her on the metro and asked her on a date. She politely declined but told him he could find her on Facebook. There was also a lovely Chinese women who decided to stop right where Jill was sitting and sign a native song. To say the least, our metro experience was interesting.
The pub crawl was a blast! We met a bunch of people at the first two bars and then headed to the third where we danced and sang to some of the best 90s music. While jamming out to the Spice Girls, one of the workers told us we were too loud and had to quiet down. We then headed to a club where we proceeded to dance the night away before heading home and crashing.
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