Pre-Tour Side Trips in Paris
On our second day in Paris, we arranged a tour to the Palace of Versailles. Like the Eiffel Tower, it is not included on the Best of Europe 14 Day Tour. It was amazing! When we caught our first glimpse we were stunned by its grandeur and we hadn't even gone inside yet. The awesome part about going with a tour group was that we were able to bypass the lines, and we received a beautifully narrated tour of the gardens before they let us go on our own to see the inside of the palace. The tour guide enriched our experience with stories about King Louis the 14th and his love of the extravagant, maintaining his prowess and the significance of what we were seeing.
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On to the Palace Interior...When we finished exploring the gardens and hearing tales about Louis the 14th, we went over to the entrance of the Palace to collect our tour audio guides. We were so excited and eager to go inside to see what other extravagancies lie ahead. We had already been wowed by the size of the gardens and later discovered that we barely saw a quarter of what was there before going inside.
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The interior of the palace was just as exquisite as the outside. Right when you walk in off of the main corridor is this opening and when you look down over the railing, your eyes are immersed in the beauty of the church nestled before you. Its grand organ sits directly in front of you, emblazoned in gold with pipes that rise up to its immense ceiling. Down below is the alter ornately decorated to meet the highly elevated standards of the king. As you continue on, there is room after room of artwork and beautifully crafted furnishings. The best part about Versailles though was the Hall of Mirrors. Whether you know the significance behind it or not, as you walk into this room, you are instantly amazed as you take in the chandeliers ascending from the ceilings adorned with gold. There are also the paintings on the ceiling and the many mirrors on the walls. The room has windows as well with stunning views of the gardens below.
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A Hike Up Montmarte... (Mountain of Martyrs)
We also were able to get a glimpse of some Parisian street art.
Pictured above is a Wallace fountain. They are public drinking fountains designed by Charles-Auguste Lebourg that appear in the form of small cast-iron sculptures scattered throughout the city of Paris, France, mainly along the most-frequented sidewalks. They are named after the Englishman Richard Wallace, who financed their construction.
Pictured to the right is the view from the Basilique du Sacré-Cœur. In front of it are many stairs that lead up into the church. The stairs were crowded much like the Spanish Stairs in Rome, full of people hanging out and enjoying the views of the city below. It was really amazing how it was so noisy and full of commotion outside, but quiet and peaceful inside with afternoon mass in session.
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After visiting Versaille, we made our way back to the outskirts of Paris to meet up with a local guide to do the Montmartre Hiking Tour. This was a pay-what-you-want at the end for services rendered if you enjoyed the tour. We met our guide and others near the Moulin Rouge. From there we began our hike up the hill towards Sacré-Cœur, the church at the top. Along the way, we got to see the café that Amelie worked at in the French film Amelie, starring French actress Audrey Tatou. (See below) If you are not familiar with Amelie, you probably will remember her from the Da Vinci Code. I almost didn't recognize it at first.
Below are some views of what we saw as we made our way to the top.
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