Change of Plans and Intestine Sausage
Our original plan was to go to a church about 3 hours outside of Paris called Mont St. Michel but we didn’t get tickets far enough in advance so the price was too high. We also didn’t want to sit on a train for 6 hours in one day. So we decided to go to Versailles Palace and see more of Paris.
We slept in later than normal because we were up so late the night before. My mom and Greg had been to Paris earlier this year and they suggested we see a church called St. Germain des Pres. They also suggested we try to see Versailles Palace later in the day to avoid the crowds. We took both pieces of advice!
The day started with a stop at a different bakery. I got a raspberry beignet (French for a donut) and Lacey got another croissant. Both were delicious but not as good as the ones on Friday. We hopped on the metro and made our way to the south side of the main area of a neighborhood called the Latin Quarter. It’s called the Latin Quarter because the universities were based here back in the day and everyone spoke Latin around them.
Our first stop was a church called St. Germain des Pres. The inside of the church has been undergoing restorations for the past few years. They’re repainting all of the interior to match the painting that was on back when the church was built. The reds and blues and golds and patterns were incredible! They’re still working on the back half of the church but the front was awesome. Saint Chapelle had a similar painting situation but it was smaller so seeing it on this grand of a scale was really cool.
After the late night, we were feeling pretty slow minded. A stop at Starbucks was needed to refuel. Yes, we could have stopped at any number of cafes and hung out but we needed some coffee on the go.
We slept in later than normal because we were up so late the night before. My mom and Greg had been to Paris earlier this year and they suggested we see a church called St. Germain des Pres. They also suggested we try to see Versailles Palace later in the day to avoid the crowds. We took both pieces of advice!
The day started with a stop at a different bakery. I got a raspberry beignet (French for a donut) and Lacey got another croissant. Both were delicious but not as good as the ones on Friday. We hopped on the metro and made our way to the south side of the main area of a neighborhood called the Latin Quarter. It’s called the Latin Quarter because the universities were based here back in the day and everyone spoke Latin around them.
Our first stop was a church called St. Germain des Pres. The inside of the church has been undergoing restorations for the past few years. They’re repainting all of the interior to match the painting that was on back when the church was built. The reds and blues and golds and patterns were incredible! They’re still working on the back half of the church but the front was awesome. Saint Chapelle had a similar painting situation but it was smaller so seeing it on this grand of a scale was really cool.
After the late night, we were feeling pretty slow minded. A stop at Starbucks was needed to refuel. Yes, we could have stopped at any number of cafes and hung out but we needed some coffee on the go.
Our next spot was Luxembourg Gardens. This is another big park in Paris. There’s a former palace here as well as many really lovely manicured gardens. The Medici fountain, in particular, was beautiful. We also enjoyed the trimmed trees in the back of the park that were straight up and down. Basically, this place was great and we were so happy we hung out here for a bit.
We planned to go to Versailles in the afternoon so we needed to get some lunch before hopping on a 45-minute train ride. We walked up one of the main streets of the Latin Quarter and to the main areas with food. It was funny to walk around this super tourist area and have people yell at us from the street to come to their restaurant just like in Thailand. Most of our time in Paris had been pretty "tourist area" free as far as food but this was different.
So we walked through this area and didn't like the vibe so Lacey used Google Maps and found a Lebanese restaurant close by with good reviews. The restaurant was literally a hole in the wall with like 2 seats and it was cool to watch the chefs make the bread and ingredients while we waited. I got a beef shwarma and Lacey got a chicken shwarma. As usual, Lacey's version had more flavor and was better but I hate getting the same thing as her soooo this is what happens almost every time. Mine was still good though. This was the best lunch we had our entire time in Paris.
We ate our shwarma while walking to the RER train. RER trains are like subways but go longer distances, are bigger trains, and cost a little more. We took the 45-minute RER train to Versailles which is just a little outside of Paris. It was kind of a madhouse walking into the complex but we figured out how to buy tickets and use a machine to do that so we only waited in line for like 5 minutes. Yay for technology!
We planned to go to Versailles in the afternoon so we needed to get some lunch before hopping on a 45-minute train ride. We walked up one of the main streets of the Latin Quarter and to the main areas with food. It was funny to walk around this super tourist area and have people yell at us from the street to come to their restaurant just like in Thailand. Most of our time in Paris had been pretty "tourist area" free as far as food but this was different.
So we walked through this area and didn't like the vibe so Lacey used Google Maps and found a Lebanese restaurant close by with good reviews. The restaurant was literally a hole in the wall with like 2 seats and it was cool to watch the chefs make the bread and ingredients while we waited. I got a beef shwarma and Lacey got a chicken shwarma. As usual, Lacey's version had more flavor and was better but I hate getting the same thing as her soooo this is what happens almost every time. Mine was still good though. This was the best lunch we had our entire time in Paris.
We ate our shwarma while walking to the RER train. RER trains are like subways but go longer distances, are bigger trains, and cost a little more. We took the 45-minute RER train to Versailles which is just a little outside of Paris. It was kind of a madhouse walking into the complex but we figured out how to buy tickets and use a machine to do that so we only waited in line for like 5 minutes. Yay for technology!
Versailles was first built as a hunting lodge for one of the French kings. Eventually, King Louis XIV took over and expanded Versailles and the garden grounds to a huge degree. Doing this helped cement French culture as the predominant country in the world. French music, food, decorations, parties, fashion, and more were all the rage everywhere and all of those were shown off at Versailles.
The King's apartment rooms are the crown jewels of the whole building. Each room had a different theme and purpose. One room had Venus on the ceiling and was his official make-out area. Another room had Mars painted on the ceiling and was the room where guards would hang out. Apollo adorned his official bedroom (he slept in a different room but would come here after he woke up haha). You get the picture. Lastly, there was the hall of mirrors which, at the time it was built, was an engineering marvel. Mirrors in the early 1700s were very hard to come by, let alone 17 different 10-foot tall mirrors. King Louis XIV was a show off basically.
After some wandering around, we found the entrance to the gardens. They were an added cost because they had the fountains and music running at a number of them. We walked the grounds and looked at all the fountains and gardens. They were all beautiful and the music and fountain shows were very special. I went here 10 years when I visited Paris but the fountains weren't on so this was a special treat to see them.
Our feet were completely shot by the time we finished walking the gardens. According to our phones, we walked 10 miles on Thursday, 12 miles on Friday, and another 11 miles on Saturday. Woof. It felt good to sit on the train back to Paris and just rest our feet. One little side story, there were a lot of people buying train tickets back to Paris because the palace was almost closing. Lacey and I had bought tickets many times so it was frustrating to see people struggling with the machines so much. We ended up helping 2 different sets of people with the machines before we bought our tickets.
The apartment was calling for us so we rested for a while there. We went out to another French bistro not far from our apartment. This one was called Cafe de L'Industries. We waited for 15 mins for a table and got seated just like the day before (squeezed between other people at a small table). The guy next to me had a delicious looking sausage so I decided to order what I thought was his meal (I guessed). Turns out, I ordered something entirely different.
I ordered intestine sausage. You read that right. I ordered sausage made of intestines. The taste actually wasn't the worst part. The rubbery texture was kind of gag-worthy. I choked down about half of it before bowing out. Lacey got a pasta dish that was fine. So we struck out on a dinner in Paris. Shoot! To make up for this fail, we got another small gelato ice cream cone before heading back.
The King's apartment rooms are the crown jewels of the whole building. Each room had a different theme and purpose. One room had Venus on the ceiling and was his official make-out area. Another room had Mars painted on the ceiling and was the room where guards would hang out. Apollo adorned his official bedroom (he slept in a different room but would come here after he woke up haha). You get the picture. Lastly, there was the hall of mirrors which, at the time it was built, was an engineering marvel. Mirrors in the early 1700s were very hard to come by, let alone 17 different 10-foot tall mirrors. King Louis XIV was a show off basically.
After some wandering around, we found the entrance to the gardens. They were an added cost because they had the fountains and music running at a number of them. We walked the grounds and looked at all the fountains and gardens. They were all beautiful and the music and fountain shows were very special. I went here 10 years when I visited Paris but the fountains weren't on so this was a special treat to see them.
Our feet were completely shot by the time we finished walking the gardens. According to our phones, we walked 10 miles on Thursday, 12 miles on Friday, and another 11 miles on Saturday. Woof. It felt good to sit on the train back to Paris and just rest our feet. One little side story, there were a lot of people buying train tickets back to Paris because the palace was almost closing. Lacey and I had bought tickets many times so it was frustrating to see people struggling with the machines so much. We ended up helping 2 different sets of people with the machines before we bought our tickets.
The apartment was calling for us so we rested for a while there. We went out to another French bistro not far from our apartment. This one was called Cafe de L'Industries. We waited for 15 mins for a table and got seated just like the day before (squeezed between other people at a small table). The guy next to me had a delicious looking sausage so I decided to order what I thought was his meal (I guessed). Turns out, I ordered something entirely different.
I ordered intestine sausage. You read that right. I ordered sausage made of intestines. The taste actually wasn't the worst part. The rubbery texture was kind of gag-worthy. I choked down about half of it before bowing out. Lacey got a pasta dish that was fine. So we struck out on a dinner in Paris. Shoot! To make up for this fail, we got another small gelato ice cream cone before heading back.
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