The Ambience of Paris, tragedy at Versailles
Trip Start
Jun 18, 2009
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3
Trip End
Jul 26, 2009
Paris,
Île-de-France,
France
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Once in the city though, Paris was sweet. Disneyland comes to mind when I think about the atmosphere, only because its the only other place in the world where i've seen such decoration and detail, except Paris is the real deal and is seasoned by hundreds of years of wear and tear and not high paid artists. Paris was awesome because it wasn't just one part of the city, or one intersection you had to see, it was the whole city that was done up, very elegant in most places, it was just a very cool experience.
The eiffel tower held its own surprises, that thing is so much bigger in real life. I have no idea how the hell they built that, it must have been one hell of a feat back at the end of the 19th century when it was built. I just couldn't believe it, check out the pictures. And at night, on the hour, it lights up like a disco ball, kinda just goes nuts for 5 minutes, it was a sight. Looking back on it, I think Paris would have been a great place to go out at night, and I wish I would've done that. I only really explored during the day, and only for an hour on my last night was I under the lights of Paris, but I think if I went back i'd like to go out and see what the nightlife was like.
We also visited the Chateau de Versailles, the palace built by King Louis XIV.
Eiffel going up like new years
It was so damn ornate that its hard to believe that it was actually built, or if it was just made up for tourism. Seriously, everything was sculpted intricately and i just don't see how even a King could want all that, it was ridiculous. The pictures show a bit, but it doesn't do it justice. But the tragedy was that some of the steps in the palace were so worn from all the tourism that they were slick, and my mom fell. She twisted her already weak knee, had to get checked up in a hospital, and now has to limp around, on and off a knee brace to keep it straight. She's getting better, but needless to say we won't be going back to Versailles. When she fell, the attendant that came to our side said "She's not the first (to fall) and won't be the last (to fall)" which is ridiculous. In the states, if a business or public service was able to say that, there would be a lawsuit in an instant haha. Makes me appreciate the states from a consumer perspective, but at least as a business in europe, you wouldn't have to deal with as much litigation.So as we returned from Versailles, we propped my mom up in the hotel, and my brother, Dad, and I went to the Arc de Triumph and saw Paris at night for a bit. Way better at dusk and after sunset.
Check out the pictures, and I'll post about our next stop in Monaco and Monte Carlo soon.
