Paris, Days 2 and 3
The next day, we slept in. Even though it was not that hot or humid, the hotel had such bad ventilation that we had to leave the windows open to cope with the mugginess. As a result, we all got devoured by mosquitos. It's really strange, because in Lille, I hadn't seen a single mosquito, and yet they were all over the room in Paris.
That day, my nephew decided he wanted to visit art museums on his own, so my sister and I went on our own trip. First, we stumbled upon a farmer's market just a couple blocks from the hotel. My sister couldn't believe how many things were for sale and how good it all looked. We ended up buying some cheese (a St. Marcellin sec and a crottin de chevre), which made for a very nice breakfast. Then we headed off to Gare Montparnasse and caught the train to Versailles.
We arrived just in time for lunch and had a nice one outdoors at a cafe. We spoke the whole time in Polish and at one point, this old guy near us who had been eating alone started asking us whether we were speaking Polish and told us all about how he knew many Polish people in The War. Of course, he was telling us all this in French, so my sister had no option but to nod politely. The guy's openness to talk to us was just one striking difference between Versailles and Paris -- Versailles just felt so much more provincial, frozen in time. Actually, the restaurant we ate in was our second choice: our first choice was vetoed when my sister saw the bathroom: a tiled room with a hole in the floor that you squat over. As I said, rather provincial.
The line for getting into the Palace of Versailles was really long, but after about an hour, we were finally let in. You walk with the large crowds through room after room with lots of paintings. Unsurprisingly, most of the paintings were portraits, not landscapes or something more interesting. But surprisingly, I realized most of the rooms only had the paintings -- they were entirely bare of furniture. That was a huge disappointment, since I generally find the furniture and fixtures to be some of the most interesting historical artifacts in these palaces. Altogether, then, the Palace of Versailles was rather indistinct compared to many of the other palaces I have visited throughout Europe. The sole exception was the Hall of Mirrors: that was indeed an impressive room to walk through, but, again, it's on the same order of impressiveness as the long hall of sculptures in the Doge's Palace in Venice.
My sister was happy to see Versailles. I was happy to check it off the list, but I wouldn't see it again. There's so many more impressive things to see in and around Paris -- another day in the Louvre would have been much better.
We headed back into Paris, got changed for dinner, and then found a bar around the block from our restaurant for dinner. I introduced my sister to kir. She liked it too, but not quite as much as the cidre. Dinner was at Pramil, a restaurant Christian and I had eaten in back in 2011 (or 2010?). I am happy to report that the food is still excellent and the prices were far more reasonable than Moissonnier. I ended up having lamb liver with a grilled zucchini flower, followed by another ris de veau, this time in a cream sauce with young turnips. The turnips were just young enough to not overpower the dish. Dessert was chocolate ice cream with flecks of piment d'espellete and passion fruit. I went out on a limb and ordered a red sancerre (this exists?!?) for the meal and then had an armagnac with dessert. It was a far more satisfying meal. My nephew had invited an acquaintance from college that happened to be in Paris for the summer -- the two of them ended up talking about classical music for most of the meal, so my sister and I had to amuse ourselves with our own conversation. It was a nice, relaxed evening.
The following morning, we woke up early and took a bus to Gare de Lyon, where my sister and nephew would be catching the TGV to Aix en Provence. We arrived early enough to have breakfast at a nearby cafe, consisting of two eggs and a croissant. It was a relaxed morning and I made sure they got on the train okay before heading off to Gare de Nord to catch my own train back to Lille. Overall, it was a really great trip where everyone was in a good mood and my sister and I especially got to talk a lot to each other.
That day, my nephew decided he wanted to visit art museums on his own, so my sister and I went on our own trip. First, we stumbled upon a farmer's market just a couple blocks from the hotel. My sister couldn't believe how many things were for sale and how good it all looked. We ended up buying some cheese (a St. Marcellin sec and a crottin de chevre), which made for a very nice breakfast. Then we headed off to Gare Montparnasse and caught the train to Versailles.
We arrived just in time for lunch and had a nice one outdoors at a cafe. We spoke the whole time in Polish and at one point, this old guy near us who had been eating alone started asking us whether we were speaking Polish and told us all about how he knew many Polish people in The War. Of course, he was telling us all this in French, so my sister had no option but to nod politely. The guy's openness to talk to us was just one striking difference between Versailles and Paris -- Versailles just felt so much more provincial, frozen in time. Actually, the restaurant we ate in was our second choice: our first choice was vetoed when my sister saw the bathroom: a tiled room with a hole in the floor that you squat over. As I said, rather provincial.
The line for getting into the Palace of Versailles was really long, but after about an hour, we were finally let in. You walk with the large crowds through room after room with lots of paintings. Unsurprisingly, most of the paintings were portraits, not landscapes or something more interesting. But surprisingly, I realized most of the rooms only had the paintings -- they were entirely bare of furniture. That was a huge disappointment, since I generally find the furniture and fixtures to be some of the most interesting historical artifacts in these palaces. Altogether, then, the Palace of Versailles was rather indistinct compared to many of the other palaces I have visited throughout Europe. The sole exception was the Hall of Mirrors: that was indeed an impressive room to walk through, but, again, it's on the same order of impressiveness as the long hall of sculptures in the Doge's Palace in Venice.
My sister was happy to see Versailles. I was happy to check it off the list, but I wouldn't see it again. There's so many more impressive things to see in and around Paris -- another day in the Louvre would have been much better.
We headed back into Paris, got changed for dinner, and then found a bar around the block from our restaurant for dinner. I introduced my sister to kir. She liked it too, but not quite as much as the cidre. Dinner was at Pramil, a restaurant Christian and I had eaten in back in 2011 (or 2010?). I am happy to report that the food is still excellent and the prices were far more reasonable than Moissonnier. I ended up having lamb liver with a grilled zucchini flower, followed by another ris de veau, this time in a cream sauce with young turnips. The turnips were just young enough to not overpower the dish. Dessert was chocolate ice cream with flecks of piment d'espellete and passion fruit. I went out on a limb and ordered a red sancerre (this exists?!?) for the meal and then had an armagnac with dessert. It was a far more satisfying meal. My nephew had invited an acquaintance from college that happened to be in Paris for the summer -- the two of them ended up talking about classical music for most of the meal, so my sister and I had to amuse ourselves with our own conversation. It was a nice, relaxed evening.
The following morning, we woke up early and took a bus to Gare de Lyon, where my sister and nephew would be catching the TGV to Aix en Provence. We arrived early enough to have breakfast at a nearby cafe, consisting of two eggs and a croissant. It was a relaxed morning and I made sure they got on the train okay before heading off to Gare de Nord to catch my own train back to Lille. Overall, it was a really great trip where everyone was in a good mood and my sister and I especially got to talk a lot to each other.