Versailles

A little tour trip to Versailles today - but actually, it was a miracle I got there really!

The tour had an assigned meeting spot, so the night before I looked it up and wrote all the directions in my little notebook.  (Item: I have a lovely little lavender Moleskin notebook that I write everything down in. It helps me remember where I've been or where I'm going and is easier to refer to than a big map).

According to Google, it would take 30 mins to get to my destination, so I left a half an hour ealier just in case of accidents or delays.  The first leg of the Metro trip went fine, but when I went to change trains, I walked for ages to get to the second line - only to find that the entire section I needed had been closed for renovations!  

There were some people walking around advising people where they needed to go, so I grabbed a young girl and put my case to her.  Her English was pretty good, but she had to get some help from someone else to work out the best way to get me to the street I needed to be at......and the minutes started to tick away.  I walked all the way back to where I had started and took another train, and then walked faster and took another train, and then sprinted up the steps and finally emerged onto a street with no idea where I had to go next!  It was 8.56am and the tour was starting at 9am.  

I crossed the street, hoping to grab a cab and wave my little notebook under the driver's nose to get me to the meeting point - and then crossed back when I realised that there was no way I could get a cab from that side of the street. At 8.58am I grabbed a woman standing on the side of the road and asked her which direction the street I needed was - and then went back across the street again when she said it was where I had just been.  I bolted across and stood on the corner wondering what number of the street I was on and which direction I should walk to find the meeting point - 8.59am.

And just as I was about to panic, I actually stopped and looked at where I was standing. And there, right in front of me was a guy in a red shirt and red cap with the name of the tour company emblazened on the front.  The information girls at the train station had delivered me to exactly where i needed to be - and I was right on time.  Oh the relief!

Actually, I wasn't even the last person to arrive as everyone had been caught by the train change and it was another 20 mins before we set off for Versailles.

The palace of Versailles was originally built as a weekend hunting lodge and escape pad for Louis XIII in the 17th century and was expanded and improved by successive kings (Louis XIV, XV and XVI) before the French Revolution bought a swift end to the monarchy system in France.  The day was bright, sunny and hot, so when we arrived we set off to tour the gardens first before the heat of the day really took hold.  The gardens are extensive (like huge) and perfectly designed and arranged to provide a series of groves between forested areas and sweeping vistas. There are hundreds of fountains which are rarely turned on as all the water for the area has to be bought in by aquaduct.  (Apparently, when the king used to walk around the gardens each day, the gardeners would get his walking schedule in advance and whistle to one another to let them know he was coming - they would turn on the fountains before he approached and turn them off when he left so that they didn't waste water).  

You can roam the gardens as much as you like but unfortunately you can't get into any of the groves other than looking through the fence.  Luckily our guide had great stories about each of the areas how they were designed so we still learned a lot.  After two hours of walking we had barely scratched the surface of the gardens and we were hot and tired so we headed up to the Palace to tour the buildings.

The Palace gets about seven million visitors each year and it felt like at least half of them were there with us on the day.  Everyone on the tour got an audio guide and scattered to do our own thing so I walked around the rooms for awhile, getting bashed by tourists from every direction and seeking out open windows to catch a tiny breath of cool air (no air conditioners and it was HOT).  After an hour and a half I gave up and speed walked the rest of the buidings and headed for the cafe for a much needed sandwich, beer and headache pills.  

After a huge day of walking, hot sun, heat, and millions of people - I was completely done.  I dozed on the train back to Paris and crawled back to my hotel for a shower and a late afternoon nap before I could even contemplate dinner.  

Ahh, Paris!

I've only been in Paris for just over 24 hours but it feels like much longer.  I'm already used to trying out my scarily few words of French and then hanging my head and admitting that I don't know any more.  On the plus side though, I must be saying hello authentically because people often start chatting away to me in French before they realise that hello is the extent of the conversation I will be having with them.  Luckily people are all being very nice (I know, unusual for Paris) and have been willingly giving me instructions or chatting while we wait for a train.  I find them to be charming.

I arrived all travel weary last night from London and started out to find my way to the hotel. I got lost before I had even left the station and had to go and get help twice, but then my memory of the Metro system seemed to kick into gear and before I knew it, I was checking into my hotel.  Collette, if you are reading this - thanks for the fantastic choice of hotel - I love it!  Everyone is very pleasant, the beds are comfy and the shower is the biggest one I have ever seen in Europe (and in Europe that is saying something!)

This morning I breakfasted on bagette, laughing cow cheese and sliced ham with coffee - oh how I love a European breakfast!  The bread here in France is just divine. Crusty and tough on the outside, chewy and soft on the inside and a smell that just can't be beaten.  It goes with every kind of cheese and is served with every meal.  

My first stop for the day was the Musee d'Orsay, which is basically the national art gallery.  The gallery has a fabulous collection of French Impressionists as well as a wide range of art and sculpture through the ages.  The gallery was in the last days of a special Vincent Van Gough exhibition.  I hadn't ever seen much of his work and this was a special (and extensive) collection that charted his early work, slide into madness and eventual suicide.  His work is completely spectacular and the audio guide (and I ususally hate audio guides) really gave an insight into his methods. I kept walking around with the words to "Starry, starry night" in my head - do you know that song?

The fifth floor has two giant clocks that you can look through onto the city and there is also a balcony with a great view across the river and up to Sacre Coeur so I had a happy half an hour taking photos.

After I left the museum, I decided to walk along the river to enjoy the beautiful day.  There were heaps of distractions on the walk to Notre Dame and it took more than an hour.  I crossed a few bridges and walked back just to enjoy the river and take a few photos.  When I arrived at Notre Dame, there were a few thousand tourists lined up to get inside so I decided to find somewhere for lunch instead.  I had a chicken baguette (of course) and walked down the back of the cathederal to the park behind the church.  A school tour group from Adelaide were playing and singing in the park and doing a fabulous job of it. I sat and watched them and thought of our school tours to New Zealand and how much fun they must all be having - what a great experience!

Next I got on the Metro again and headed to the Latin Quarter.  Nicole took me there when I visited her in Paris and I wanted to see the area again.  It took me awhile to find it (not your directions Nicole, it was me!) but eventually I found the felafal store we ate at and I wandered the charming streets and sat in a park to watch the world go by.

As I walked back to the hotel from the Metro, I realised how I had changed in just 24 hours.  Paris is tough and uncompromising.  It doesn't tolerate weakness so you need to harden up and tumble into it - but when you do, you are rewarded with its warmth and character.  There is so much going on at every minute and it never stops.  I couldn't live here, but gosh I love to visit!  

 Musee de Orsay.

 Looking through the clock.

 Love locks on the bridge.

 Feeding the pigeons

 Part of Notre Dame.

  This poor fellow was so tired from waiting for his train that he couldn't stand up to read!

Last days of Oxford

My last few days in Oxford have been delightful.  

After a huge day at Stratford on Saturday, I had a very quiet Sunday and went to the Ashmolean museum for some gentle sightseeting.  The Ashmolean is Britan's first museum and it has a great collection.  It was an enjoyable way to spend a couple of hours and the sunny canteen courtyard was also a nice way to spend some time - napping in the sun. 

I checked out of my hotel that morning and in the afternoon I went into a student hostel at Mansfield College. All the universities of the UK open up their student accommodations during the holidays and it's a cheap and interesting place to stay. 

Mansfield College has the distinction of being one of the city's "youngest" colleges - it's only about 400 years old!  The rooms were small and simple, but very comfortable and also very quiet!  I was on the top floor (hard going with a suitcase but worth it for the view) and my room looked down onto a beautiful garden.  This morning I looked out and saw some squirrels chasing eachother up a tree and a young fox trotting through the garden.  

Breakfast was included with the room and was served in the chapel, and while it wasn't quite Harry Potter dining room standard, it was certainly a very old and interesting place to enjoy your egg and sausage brekkie.  The college is only about 10 mins walk from town so it was quite convenient to get around. 

On Monday I caught a bus to Abington village for a ramble.  Abington is a charmingly picturesque village that is only about 20/30 mins away from Oxford.  It sits on the banks of the Thames and boating is a focus of the area.  There is also a lovely Victorian garden and ruined Medieval abbey.  

I walked around the abbey and through the gardens and then crossed into the park and walked along a little river.  It was cool and green and the walking was easy and I kept meaning to turn back but wondered what was beyond the next bend, so it ended up being quite a time before I turned back.  I ended up in a pub overlooking the river where I had lunch and a chat to the waitress who had spent two months in Australia and loved the country.  

The day ended back in Oxford at dinner with my friends who gave me the best farewell gift - they let me use their washing machine and dryer.  It sounds simple, but getting all your clothes washed and dried while you get to drink wine and chat to friends is absolutely the BEST thing you can get when you are travelling.  Laundries are hard to find on the road and suck up precious sightseeing hours, so you hold off till you absolutely have to and then you bite the bullet.  I ended the trip with a fresh load of clean clothes and excitement about what's ahead.  Next stop - Paris!

 Pretty sights around Abington.

 Last walk around Oxford.

 The bridge of sighs

The English do have some kooky location names!