Paris Part 4

Okay, hopefully this is the last post from the Paris visit...it seems to have gone on and on and there are so many other wonderful adventures in so many other fabulous places to cover!

On our last day in Paris we went to Versailles. This is something I had wanted to do for ages but never managed to get around to doing. Unfortunately it did not measure up to my expectations.

Sure, it's a palace. Sure, it's ornate. Sure, the gardens are huge. Sure, kings and queens lived here in some very dramatic periods in history. But...it just did not impress me as I had hoped it would. Maybe it was partly because the front of the building is currently being restored and was therefore hidden behind scaffolding and canvas (with images of what you should see printed on it!) Maybe it was because the fountains in the garden were not operating and therefore it lacked that over the top sense of splendour. Maybe it was because the gargens were actually just lawn, trees and hedges. And maybe it was because the place was SOOOOO damn crowded! I was seriously getting claustrophic in some of the rooms, especially when the massive tour groups would swallow all the available space while they heard about this painting or that fabric. I hate crowds and I particularly hate crowds in small spaces! The best part of the visit by far was when Liesl and I lay on the lawn beside a little lake with ducks and swans and almost fell asleep in the sun. Which, let's face it, we could have done in any one of many gorgeous parks in Paris itself. I don't wish to sound bitter, but Versailles? Ngjeeee...nothing special. Okay, that is an exaggeration...it is something special, but if you only have a couple of days in Paris I would recommend you do something else!




Some of the other things we did in Paris that I have forgotten to blog about previously were: pay our respects to both Jim Morrison and the semi naked dancers of the Moulin Rouge. The strange thing about Jim was that his grave is just kind of tucked away in the Cimetiere du Pere Lachaise, crammed up against some other stones in a tiny little plot. Not particularly pretty and not at all spectacular. I have to say I would rather a quiet resting place under a big shady tree in open plains somewhere, but then I am not Jim! Love your music Jim, but thought your grave was a bit squeezy and square. Sorry.

Actually though, the cemetary itself was quite lovely. Enormous and packed with gravestones, but generally green and peaceful...except around Jim of course where the American tourists were telling everyone what they thought about anything and everything. I remember having a really lovely little break though when Liesl and I just sat on a little park bench overlooking the grounds and the city, drank our tap water from the hotel and ate some of the Granola bars she had brought from the US (maple syrup and muesli a top combination!), together with some fruit bought on the way out of the metro. The simple pleasures hey?

Okay, not all of our pleasures were simple! Here is me getting VERY excited about the cakes we had with our coffee at our local patisserie one day...mmmmm...the cakes!

The Moulin Rouge was hilarious! When the dancers first stepped out in glitter suits and did a few one step forward, arms up, skippty hop backs, though, I thought this was going to be an expensive show that had not aged very well at all! I also remember thinking, thank god champagne was included in the price! But then, when the woman dived into a tank full of pythons and the red feather headsets came out, everything changed! The show was fantastic! The variety acts were superb (I will always wonder about the real identity of the talking dog!), the costumes stunning, and the bouncing breasts well worth the money!

One of the funniest things of the night though actually happened after the show. Liesl and I were trying to take some pictures of the windmill (see above) when I ran over a hot air vent and my skirt flew up over my ears. As I was pulling it down and cacking myself, Liesl and I heard a guy in the throng of photographers say, "Do it again, I was aiming too high". We thought it was so hilarious that Lies made me do it again, only this time Marilyn style - see below...

And thus ends the Paris adventures...stay tuned for the next installment - the gorgeous Amalfi coast of Italy! xxx