Apparently, the French are on holiday too...still

This morning, Julia woke up so excited - she dreamt about her beloved croissants.  She rushed me first thing across the street to the patisserie... and no!  They were all out of croissants.  She pouted and said some French words of despair, but no luck.  Maybe we should get up before 10am. The cashier did offer her pain au chocolat and mini-croissants, so she filled up on those, but it wasn't quite the same.  I did my best to console Julia.  She was visibly upset by the lack of croissants.  For my breakfast, I opted for an entire loaf of brioche bread with raisins.   We must continue our carbo-loaded diet to fuel the power walks around Paris.   Here's a little peak at the rest of our day: crepes at Versailles, a Twix bar at Marie Antoinette's pad, brie cheese and bread, and Starbucks at the Louvre.   We are doing our part to keep Paris' economy rolling...one carb at a time.

The chateau...we failed to see

We grabbed the train to Versailles, hoping to enjoy a sunny day in the gardens and see a fabulous palace.  The train took about 30 minutes and it was packed.  Our thought was that the French would be back at work today now that it was not Ascension, Labor, and May Day.  Wrong!  An American couple told us on the train that many French take most of the week off.  Sweet, just what we wanted to hear.  Boy, no one was working but the ticket takers at Versailles today.  The number of buses and people at the palace was ridiculous.  It was Disneyland on crack.  We thought we were so clever when we bought the Versailles Pass at the train station back in Paris which gave you "priority entrance to the main attractions."  A bunch of BS.  The line to get into the chateau was at least 2.5 hours.  Not known for our patience in any line, Julia and I headed to the gardens.  We got lost in the gardens for about 3 hours.  It was a truly beautiful day and the gardens are a spectacular sight.  We checked out Marie Antoinette's section of the grounds.  Basically, here's the run down: Louis XIV (the sun king to some) got tired of living in Paris and all the snobs so he wanted a retreat from what now is the Louvre.  So he commissioned Versailles and the gardens to be built.  Louis XV and XVI apparently needed a retreat from the retreat and built some more buildings in the back.  I guess the 6000 person entourage can get old sometimes.  I guess life is tough when you need a retreat from the retreat.

The crown jewels...we could settle for these

We cruised back to Paris mid-afternoon and strolled down the Champs Elysees to check out the shopping scene.  Again, no one is working today so this street was packed!  Realizing that the fun stores were not in this section of town, we took the Metro to the Concourde to see the "fun" stores.  Yes Brian, that means the really expensive ones.  But we just wanted to look...and try on things that are ridiculously expensive.  We were such good girls too. 

After exhausting ourselves shopping, we grabbed tea, brie, and strawberries (yes, first fruit in a few days) before heading to the Louvre for some late-night and reduced-priced viewing.  Thankfully, the French were at dinner, so the line was not that bad.  We cruised the Sully and Richeliu wings.  The collection here is incredible and the magnitude almost desensitizes you as to what you are seeing because there is so much.  We actually accidentally stumbled on the Mona Lisa.  It was easy to spot because of the hoards of people around it.   I think we had the most fun checking out Napoleon's Apartment and the ancient Egyptian and Middle Eastern exhibits.   We wrapped up our stay at the Louvre with a stop at good old Starbucks.  I guess we were searching for a little comfort food because obviously were we not getting enough with the waffles, crepes, chocolate, croissants, and pancakes.  What better than a Frappaccino? 

The Louvre...we got in!

We are back at the hotel now and are preparing to hit the town for probably our last big night out since our flights on Sunday are early in the morning.  Tomorrow, we hope to spend our last day in a lazy fashion with a picnic along the Seine and maybe a little more shopping.

The Orangerie

Versailles Garden