Paris day 2 and on to London

My second day in Paris. To say the least it was a fabulous day! I met a couple girls at the hostel who decided to accompany me on the Versailles tour. So we all got up and had breakfast and headed out for Place Sant-Michele for 11 am so that we could catch the tour. Jessie from Wisconsin was one of my roommates at the hostel- she's been studying in Germany. Priscilla is from Brazil and studying in Lyon, France- she's in architecture.

So we headed out of the hostel to navigate the Paris metro system, which considering its complexity is extremely easy to figure out. As we headed towards our meeting place Priscilla gave each of us a traditional good luck bracelet from Brazil that you make 3 wishes on. It was so sweet!

So we caught our tour to Versailles and headed out on the RER system- about a half an hour's ride outside of Paris. It was GORGEOUS! took lots of pictures of the inside and out. Our tour took us all through the gardens which were huge and beautiful. Today the Versailles Palace includes about 2000 acres of land. Back in the day when Louis XIV was living there it had closer to 50 000 acres which included plenty of land for hunting. The gardens were magnificent and having the tour gude through them was exellent. Because we were there on a Sunday, the fountains were turned out and there was classical music playing. I know it sounds cheesy but it was actually very lovely and there was a choreographed water show to the music which was actually just beautiful! After a tour of the gardens we headed inside the palace and took a free audio tour which led us through the different rooms including the world's most expensive hallway, the famed Hall of Mirrors. Pretty increadible! We had a glorious day too. One of the best I've had on my travels yet.

So as things wrapped up at Versailles around 5:30- yes we were there a total of 6 hours, we headed back to central Paris on the RER again and we made a pit stop for me to Grand Du Nord where the Eurorail leaves Paris for London. I thought I'd book my train thru the chunnel a day earlier. Not to be. The first price i could find was a huge 245 Euro for a 2.5 hour train. No way can I afford that! So I stood in line (I had been at a kiosk) and when speaking to the man and asking for the cheapest train the next day, was given a quote of 183 Euro, still out of my price range... So with a little stress in my system (travel uncertainty can be a little stressful) we headed back to the hostel so I could do a little internet research. I had planned my trip along the route I did so that I could take the chunnel back. That was kinda the point to ending this part in Paris. So I booked a bus which was only 45 euros but took up to 9 hours. Funny how you pay less for them serving you for longer. I had been given some (wrong) information that the buses drive through the chunnel. Not the case, the bus drove onto a ferry and I went over the channel rather than thru the channel tunnel. Oh well, you can't do it all on every trip. I had to leave some things missed so that I know I'll come back.

So with a bus ticket booked and feeling a bit relieved, the three of us headed out for one nice dinner in Paris. It was all of our last nights and with the help of Lonely Planet with found a really sweet small local restaurant in the charming area of Montmarte called Cafe Marie. Enroute to finding this restaurant we ran into Markus, a vancouverite who was on our Versailles tour. He joined us for dinner which was great. So the 4 of us went to a traditional French restaurant where I had French onion soup (just called onion soup here) and Beef Bouriguignon with apple pie to finish. We shared a bottle of wine and a whole lot of laughs. It was a fabulous evening. From there, a little later than planned, we headed for the Eiffel Tower, which I had not seen up close yet. We arrive at about 11:45 which was perfect because we got our pictures and then at midnight the twinkles came on. Every night on the hour every hour, the eiffel tower glitters. It actually is quite beautiful. From there we headed back to our hostels and the evenign ended perfectly.

What a fabulous day to end the solo part of my trip.

The next day I spent almost entirely on the bus travelling thru the beautiful french countryside to London. Relatively uneventful other than the very sweet Brazillian family who i met on the bus. They also gave me a Brazil bracelet. It was a couple and one of thier mother's who were visiting their children in Paris and London. It was funny because the grandmother kept speaking to me in portugese and I had no idea what she was saying to me but she was very sweet.

When I arrived in London, I found my way to Sergei's workplace on the tube and after a short wait for him to finish work, we walked back to his beautiful flat. Amazingly, he ended up not having to go back to work (it was already after 8 pm) and a half an hour later Kat came home from work too and the 3 of us got to have dinner together and hang out and catch up. It was such a nice evening. I wish they were closer by and we could hang out more often.

So after a fabulous nights sleep in a room of my own, in a large bed, I woke up and said goodbye to the two of them for their day's work. Today I get to see my friend Maddy for lunch, who I haven't seen in about 4 years or so, and a friend Bobbi who I went to university in Calgary with.

Another great day. I'm keeping it low key here in London and resting so that Greece is fabulous when Kath and I go there next.

I can't believe my trip is half over!

Enjoy the sunshine