Sarah and Ashley go to Versailles!

Guess what happens when Ashley and I are let loose in Versailles, the palace built by Louis XIV?  Yes, we do spend all day pretending we are royalty!  But the chateau makes you feel that way, it is absolutely phenomenal!  Ash arrived in Paris a couple of days ago for her reading week, and has been sleeping on the couch.  While I went to class in the morning she's been spending time at the Louvre and in the Tuileries gardens.  When I came back in the afternoons, we went to Notre Dame, Shakespeare and Company, the Arc de Triomphe, the Champs Elysees, and Place de la Concorde.  Since today was my day off, we decided to spend a day trip going to the castle, and it was definitely worth it!

We started the day by taking the RER train out of Paris to Versailles, and walked through the drizzly rain to the palace gates, where we got in for free (hurray EU student cards!)  The palace is impressive, and HUGE!  We walked through dozens of rooms lined  with art, decorated with sculptures and wonderfully intricate furniture.  The chapel used by the kings and queens of France was immense, and beautifully painted.  My favourite was the Hall of Mirrors - lined with crystal chandeliers, mirrors and windows it was absolutely breathtaking.  On the ceiling, Louis XIV had designed his military victories painted, which is a pretty cool effect.  As we were walking through the Hall, we remembered where this was where the Treaty of Versailles was signed in 1919 and where Marie-Antoinette had walked down the aisle in her wedding gown.

Ash, me, and VERSAILLES!

More royalty was in store for us though!  We saw the king and queen's apartments, as well as the dauphin's rooms, and after a bite to eat wandered through the gardens which were even bigger than the palace.  Despite the rain, it was still quite a nice walk, and I've decided I have to go back when the fountains are on and when the sun is out!

We walked to the Grand Trianon, another part of the castle built not too far away.  The best part of this building?  IT WAS PINK!  So cute.  I could definitely see myself living in a pink palace.  My first thought was of my friend Amy Cook who's in Ottawa at the moment - she loves pink and I feel like she's destined to live there someday!  Next we visited the Petit Trianon, which was a "little" castle designed for Louis XV and his mistress Madame de Pompadour.  This was the present that Louis XVI gave Marie-Antoinette,  and what I loved most about it was the gazebo in the garden that looked exactly like it was from the movie Pride and Prejudice!  Luckily Ash is also a Jane Austen fan, so she understands my obsession!

Although I have class tomorrow, I'm waking up early and grabbing croissants from the bakery to have breakfast with Ash before I go.  Then afterwards we're meeting up to take a tour of the catacombs of Paris!  Apparently there are the bones of six million people (three times the population of Paris) under the city.  Creepy... but cool!

And I still have to pack for Jordan, AH!  I am the worst at packing - wish me luck!