July 8th

Sunday, July 8th, 2007
Paris, France

This morning I weather.comd the weather in France, and the forecasted high temperature was in the 70s and the chance of rain was 10%, and it was supposed to rain in the evening if at all. I decided that I should be fine without my coat or the rain jacket, as Julia and I set off to spend the day at Versailles.

When we got there the weather was beautiful, and because we had museum passes we only had to wait in line for about a half hour instead of two plus hours. In line, Julia ran into somebody she knew-it was crazy!!!

Versailles is a MUST SEE for anybody going to Paris. It was my favorite out of everything I saw while there. The intricate architectural design and first-class artwork that covers the walls of the palace are simply mindblowing. The gardens are something else altogether. After roaming through dozens of the chateau's rooms, and seeing art such as David's "Coronation of Napoleon," we went outside to the gardens. We grabbed a bite to eat, both of us buying and eating all of our food while Julia waited almost an hour to go to the bathroom. The men's room had absolutely no line. Then we sat on the steps before one of the central fountains to save some good seats for the water show. Then it started.

First it was sprinkles, and it quickly turned into torrential downpour. I feel like I have used that term a lot to describe the rain here, but it is because there is no better way. We thought maybe it would blow over, but the clouds looked dark and dense for miles and miles. We watched the water show in the rain, and then we went to see Marie Antoinette's two dwellings that she occupied after the riot at the Chateau. It rained the entire time, and we walked in it for kilometers. Julia was in flip flops, but she had an umbrella. I was wearing a pair of jeans and a single t-shirt, which was soaked through in all of five or six minutes. Once the rain started a bit after noon, it did not stop until 8 in the evening.

The grandeur of Versailles is so far unparalleled in my eyes. It is a disgusting display of wealth that was taken from the common man in a time when royal families were so bored they had nothing better to do than to see how much money they could take from the people of their country before the people finally revolted. But the result of this historical phenomenon is pure beauty, and that is why Versailles was my favorite place in the Paris area.

Julia and I took the train back to her place, where we planned on buying some food and cooking dinner. Much to our dismay, the supermarket near Julia was closed because it was Sunday. I went back to my hostel and partook in a Mexican feast with my hostelmates (all of whom had a craving for Mexican food). I will admit that I did not share in this hankering feeling, but I played along and made myself a quesadilla.

I am finally getting caught up...just five full days behind now!!

---Jason