We Walk A Lot

The plan for Monday was the Palace at Versailles. Sean and I got up and slowly got ourselves ready to take off for the day. We followed Casey's detailed instructions and found our way to the information desk at the RER C train station who told us we needed to go to another window who told us that Versailles is closed on Mondays. Ouch.

Slightly defeated, we decided that pizza would cheer us up. It did. We realized, as we ate our thin crusted deliciousness, that we'd had only one or two truly French meals this whole trip. The French actually eat a lot of Italian food (and they do Italian pretty well), so we've really been living on that more than anything. We continued to plot out our day.

After pizza we headed to Notre Dame. Surprisingly, the line to get into the church wasn't too long and moved pretty quickly. Those who have been inside this building will know that a blog entry description isn't quite adequate and those who haven't been should go. Suffice it to say it was easily one of the most impressively built things I've ever witnessed in person. The ornate and intricate detail is simply stunning and the sheer size of the building immediately instills a sense of deep reverence and reminds you how small you really are. We waited in line to go to the top for a bit, but, unfortunately, that line was long and didn't move quickly. Having seen the city from up high already at the Arch de Triomphe, we decided to see some other things and maybe come back to climb the stairs.

Next we searched for the Church of Saint Chappelle, a building whose stained-glass windows I was told by John and Laura Patterson were absolutely stunning. We walked for quite a while, as we didn't see the church on the map but I was told, roughly where it was. After about 25 minutes we found it and were surprised that what we thought was a little-known gem actually took longer to get into than Notre Dame. We passed- perhaps we'll go back earlier in the morning.

Finally, we made our way to Luxembourg Gardens. This royal backyard is a beautifully manicured and well-used green space in the city. Statues stand watch over meticulously handled landscaping and Parisians sit about, reading, talking and, of course, making out. We walked a bit, snapping photos and then stumbled across some old men playing Patanque, a French game that's almost the exact same as bocce ball. It was nice to sit for a while and just watch the way the older men (and some young ones) use their ample free time in Paris. On our way back to Casey's apartment we stopped and sat a while at a cafe. Paris has a wonderful cafe culture where one can sit for hours with a tiny cup of coffee and just stare out as the city goes by. Sometimes it's nice not to be rushed.

We took Casey out for Mexican, which is what she'd been craving. Let me tell ya, Parisians clearly don't take many trips to Mexico. After munching on some guacamole and off-brand Dorito's, Sean ate a tamale, and Casey and I both dined on a quesadilla smothered in imitation nacho cheese. Nice try, France.

We finished our day with a trip to "le cinema" where the French infatuation with inefficiency became all too clear. After a trip up the escalator and then back down to buy tickets from a well-hidden window, we made our way back upstairs to wait in the biggest poorly-formed line ever. This crowd wasn't moving anywhere, oh no, we all had to stand until 8:05p (our actual movie time) anxiously awaiting what, for everyone else, would be Harrison Ford kicking Soviet ass and chasing South American alien treasure in French subtitles. After the ropes came up and the crowd pressed its way into the theater, the Frenchies took all the seats (TO A MOVIE THEY DON'T EVEN UNDERSTAND) and 25 or so people were left scrambling for a viewing spot. The three of us finally had to split up and enjoy the corny fourth installment of the Indiana Jones series by ourselves. While France is a beautiful country, they literally are the most inefficient people I think I've ever seen, which, I believe is why Casey straight-up hates everyone who lives in France besides St. Julien d'le Tracteur.

Sean and I are planning our attack on Tuesday as I write this. It's raining so Versaille's out again. More to come (and photos when I actually take the time to get the up).