Paris: Baguette Day, A Palace and A Garden

It's another beautiful day in Paris! We started our day with breakfast by the traffic circle in Bastille at a restaurant called Le Canon. We ordered the traditional breakfast, and one breakfast with an omelette and salad. The traditional French breakfast is a croissant, pain du chocolat, or a baguette with butter and jam, coffee or tea, and freshly-squeezed orange juice. We were a little lacking in protein and green vegetables so we opted for the omelette and salad as well.

The OJ was sweet and warm, the tea was excellent, the baguettes were fresh and delightful with butter and jam, and the omelette and salad hit the spot.

Then we were off to Versailles! The palace is closed on Mondays so we went on Tuesday morning. The lines were impossibly long, even in the morning, so we had to wait for an hour to get into the palace.

But we made it! This is one of the front golden gates.

Inside, the rooms, chapels, bed chambers, sitting, reading, and dining areas were all gilded, draped, and impeccably decorated. As this was the home of King Louis XIV, everything had to be the best, the most extravagant, and far superior to anything else.

Oh the frescoes.
And the gold! SO much gold.

Below, me being a tourist with an audio guide to my ear.

The ceilings all looked like this:

And scantily-clad men or women adorned the walls, either painted or sculpted:

Here he is. The man of the house. Palace. Estate!

VIDEO

Here we are in the tourist-clogged Hall of Mirrors. Can you spot the selfie sticks?

VIDEO: Hall of Mirrors

The hall was lined with these sculptures of women eternally holding up torches:

Oh hey there, stranger.

The ceiling and chandeliers in the Hall of Mirrors.

Just look at those napkins! Those are folded to origami perfection!

When we left the palace, it had stopped raining, briefly, and this is the view from the outer courtyard:

We re-entered the palace to explore the ground floor before heading to the gardens.

This is the hallway leading to the Mesdames' Apartments (ladies' quarters).

The window glass was warped in places and it made the outside visitors look blurry.

This is what one of the rooms looked like: I can imagine a well-dressed, laced-up lady (one of King Louis XV's daughters, lounging uncomfortably on this chair.

This is one the small libraries, complete with a fireplace and writing desk.

By the time we finished the apartments, we were so hungry (as it was almost 3pm). We found the cafe and were able to grab some food amongst all the other tourists scrambling for nourishment in the poorly-segmented cafe area. There were no clear lines, and everyone was vying for the cashier's attention.

I got an iced tea, which in Europe are much sweeter than in the US, a vanilla yogurt, and the broccoli and salmon quiche. It wasn't bad!
Then we walked out to the gardens, and it looked like we were all done with rain!

This is the view of the palace from the gardens:

Look at this breathtaking view of the Latona Fountain and the Great Lawn leading to Apollo's Fountain:

Above, an impressive statue (with only 1 1/2 feet), and below, an ivy-covered trellis:

We wandered to the Mirror Pool and were treated to a soothing water show with accompanying music.

VIDEO: Mirror Pool and Music

Then we walked to Apollo's Fountain, where you can see the gilded statue of Apollo, rising from the water with his chariot:

The view of the Great Lawn (no foot traffic allowed)

Manicured bushes

Here is a closer view of Apollo's fountain:

These pristine statues were standing all over the grounds, and they stood taller than the height of an average man. Also, many of the statues were still completely white; no visible markings of wear or damage.

This is the Enceladus Grove, which depicted a Titan half-buried in rocks, symbolizing the battle for Mount Olympus between the Titans and the Gods. 

This space was magical to me: had I been 4 years old and carefree, I would have run with abandon around this pathway for hours...

We had a hankering for ice cream, so we found the little food stand in Dauphin's Grove and got what was marketed as Italian ice, but kind of tasted like frozen yogurt. Close enough!

One final view of the Latona Fountain on our way out:

The scavengers eat very well from all the food the tourists leave:

Little baby cherub says goodbye!

Want to read more about the fountains of the Versailles gardens? Click here. The groves? Click here.

We found another little pocket of Jewish life in the 19th arrondissement at a restaurant called Canal Grill. The owner was very nice and we ended up speaking to him in Hebrew since our combined French was not so good, and his English was lacking. We had a very nice time and the food was delicious! I got a grilled chicken sandwich on a baguette, and Stephanie got a shawarma on a baguette. 

This meal was incredibly filling and we waddled our way back to the apartment for a good night's sleep.

À bientôt!