Our second day in Paris was a long one, but we were well-rested and ready for it. We took a train out of Paris to Versailles, the French palace so closely linked to the French Revolution. The Palace of Versailles is beautiful, and so extravagant. It is easy to understand why the peasants of the 18th Century were so angry with royalty's lifestyle, when they were all starving on the dirty streets of Paris. We had a guided tour of the palace, and got to go into places of the palace not open to the general public. We even had the chance to see where the king did his work and wrote his letters. It was a little early in the year, so the trees and flowers were not yet in bloom. It was wonderful, however, to have some peaceful free time sitting next to the canal in the gardens.
After Versailles we returned to Paris, where we went to the Eiffel Tower. It was so big! Many of us agreed, though, that it really isn't such a beautiful structure. We then took the metro to the Arc de Triomphe, and from there walked down the Champs Elysees. This is a very long street with expensive, brand name shops. We only did window shopping. We kept walking, past the Place de La Concorde, and through the Louvre courtyard. We had a dinner reservation, but it was too far and too late to walk to, so we ate in a small, family-owned sandwich shop next to the Seine. It was great to finally rest our tired feet!
After dinner, we had a boat cruise on the Seine. It was a clear, cool night; perfect for pictures. We went past the Eiffel Tower, beautifully lit up, the Notre- Dame Cathedral, the smallest house in Paris, and even the jail where Marie-Antoinette was imprisoned. It was a relaxing way to see Paris, without having to move at all.
