PARIS AND VERSAILLES-March 20, 2010

It was an amazing day as we toured Paris. We started of by taking the Metro to the Eifle Tower. It is spectacular! There was a very long line to get to the top, so we opted out and spent our time on a tour of the city via the "hop-on hop-off tour bus" We were amazed at the beautiful architecture and massive, ornate buildings. Then we took a train to Versailles to tour King Louis IV's home. It was "over the top", like eating an entire meal of chocolate! Every inch of wall was decorated with paintings, sculpture, tapestry, gold trim, etc., and the ceilings were complete murals with gold trim and frames and rounded corners.Versailles gardens (above) and grand hall (below)
Take a look at this ceiling! They are all like this one!

This is the chapel (above). The castle went on and on and on with more rooms than we could count or remember. We bought a book with pictures of the rooms (our only souvenir of France). We wore headsets and listened to a very informative tour. One fact that I remember is that the queen had 19 children and delivered them in public so there would be no question that they were heirs to the throne.

We enjoyed an authentic French meal at "Les Dolmen Creperie". We had the special which included a salad made of lettuce, tomatoes, corn and a milk-based dressing (very good!), followed by a ham and cheese Galette, which is a cross between an omelete and a crepe, and was delicious. then we had a dessert crepe. Bob had lemon and I had chocolate (divine!). We had mineral water to drink. No one serves complimentary water with meals. We didn't eat until 3:30, and we had a granola bar for breakfast, so we were able to finish our French meal just fine!
We discovered that one of the metro stops had couches from Ikea for people to sit on while they waited for their train. The bookcase backdrop is a mural.
Here we are at Arc de Triompe. We climbed to the top and could see Paris very well.
This sculpture was at the top. Bob certainly got an "ear full"!
And this is the view from the top.

We waited in line for a night cruise of the Seine River, which was worth the wait. Paris is beautiful at night with all of the buildings lit up. The Eifle Tower twinkles for about five minutes every hour. We got to see it twice. Beautiful!