Day 7: Versailles, Notre Dame, Sparkling Eiffel

Versailles was as sprawling, opulent, and awe-inspiring as I had heard. Although the gardens and Trianon were closed due to the snow coverage, I was kind of happy just to stay inside the palace and not feel like I had to see everything. I had come prepared with a Rick Steves' walking tour podcast on my iPad so I donned my headphones and explored. Conveniently, this was also paced the same as the official audio tour that Carrie had, so we progressed together through the palace. I was shooting with a different lens today so I can't wait to get home and upload these pictures for you. Rooms were recovered in silk wall coverings. Floor-to-ceiling windows. Gold gilt everywhere. Hundreds of rooms. Larger than life artwork. And the approach to the palace took our breath away with a gold-covered gate that shone like the sun for a half mile at least. I would love to return in warmer weather to take a Segway tour of the grounds.

We had a lovely lunch in the village of Versailles, in which I had sausage wrapped in puff pastry, and beef carpaccio with olive oil, Parmesan, and red onions. Once again I ordered in French, and the waiter complimented me on my pronunciation and asked if I was also French. Mon dieu, non! But it certainly made my day, especially since build-up to this trip I was obsessed with learning as much as possible since I am intimidated by the language and heard that they're picky about pronouncing things properly. But I find people are very friendly and accepting if you try.

We left Versailles early enough to make a visit to Notre Dame. Now I feel like I've seen the three grand cathedrals of Europe: Canterbury, St Peter's, and Notre Dame. It's gorgeous, and 850 years old next year. A no idea it was so old. Yet so beautiful in its gothic architecture. I was happy to see the flying buttresses, which was - I believe - the first use of buttresses on a gothic building. We also heard the famous bells ringing.

Across the river we found the bookshop Shakespeare & Company. It's a tiny shop filled with new and old books in a cramped space, with reading rooms on the higher floors and an unofficial home away from home for many famous writers. On the second floor in a small room was a piano where a girl sat playing, and I leaned against a bookshelf full of delightfully smelly old books and listened to her play for a bit. I also found Bebelman's "Madeleine" book and flipped through it for nostalgia's sake. Afterward we walked through the Latin Quarter which was cute with its small winding streets and ethnic foods, but I found it a bit more of a tourist trap with high-pressure sales pitches to try to beckon us into restaurants. I longed for being back in our residential neighborhood where our hotel is.

Soon it was dusk so we hopped back on the Metro to the Eiffel Tower to see it lit up and night, and found a perfect vantage point on some steps at the opposite end of the park where we could get full shots of the tower. Within minutes of sitting, the tower began to sparkle with light. Breathtaking. Spectacular. Quintessential Paris. And this also meant we didn't have to wait in the cold very long, so we went back to the hotel, dropped our bags, and headed out for a light dinner of mussels, fries, wine, and creme brûlée. My theory is that fries are merely a delivery mechanism for mayonnaise. Ketchup is old news.

I don't know where the stereotype of rude French comes from as we've encountered nothing but friendly and helpful people, including wait staff. When we were looking momentarily confused on the Metro, an old lady stopped to offer her help and made sure we headed the right direction. I also discovered a lovely Parisian fashion that is also wildly practical in the winter. Wearing a shawl OVER and around a winter coat. This didn't make sense to me at first until I tried it. Viola! It cuts the wind from blowing into our coat, and is equally adorable. And I love accessories, so now I'm hooked. So practical. I used to say that there's no such thing as fashion in Chicago during the winter, but Parisians can pull it off, so there's no excuse anymore not to look put together and warm.

I haven't yet eaten cassoulet. I found it at one restaurant, but we had just eaten lunch and were still full. It's more difficult to locate than I had thought. Tomorrow night our final meal is at Joel Robuchon's L'Atelier so there will plenty to be written about that, as well as an overdue reason to dress up.