Week 14
Day 93
Today we went to Versailles, the city not the palace. We had plans of going to the palace but sadly we did not plan well. We arrived late, the line was long and we found out how expensive it was, all of which led to us enjoying a lovely free day strolling around Versailles. Check out the pictures for more details about our day not going to the Palace of Versailles.
When the first train came the accordion man announced to all the tourist that it was not the train to Versailles. Then before the correct train arrived he moved us all down the platform because it was a “short train”. He also played a mean accordion and came on the train with us.
After the train ride we arrived in Versailles and headed towards the palace. The parking lot was full of buses and the line was already long so we went for lunch first. We went to an Indian place down the street. It was tasty and the owner was very kind. He helped us move tables twice as it started to rain.
After lunch we headed back to the palace. The line was even longer. We walked to the gardens where there was less of line. We made the choice to not try to go into the palace. We should have planned better for that part of the adventure. But we did enjoy all of the beautiful free parks around the palace.
We enjoyed our free adventure around Versailles. Maybe some day we will come back and do the palace for real!
Back in Paris we had Cinq pizza from across the street for dinner. We had the cannibales and the quatre sesson. Which were both pretty good. Rather than red pepper flakes they give you spicy oil to drizzle on the pizza.
Day 94
We are budget traveling which means groceries and eating at the AirBnb sometimes. One of the easiest things we have figured out that we love is Avocado Tuna Salad. It uses avocado rather than mayo to bind the tuna. Its super yummy and mildly healthy.
We sat in the Tuileries this afternoon to read and then strolled through the Gardens. Then we walked to the Luxembourg Gardens and enjoyed the sights and people watching. We went back to the AirBnb for dinner. #budget
Day 95
Today we walked along the canal and we were able to see a tour boat go through the locks/dams along the canal. Apologies for the jumpy video.
We decided that we were on a mission to find Champagn. We walked along the canal and went into upwards of ten stores checking prices. The average we found for cheap “champagne” (aka actually from Champagne) was $25ish but we got one for under 20! We enjoyed looking at all the wines. The most expensive bottle of champagne that we saw was $260.
We were near Père-Lachaise cemetery so we walked that way. Unfortunately the doors were closed. We looked at the hours and found out that we were 30 minutes late. So we found a park nearby to enjoy our beverage!
Day 96
We made it to the cemetery earlier today. Even with plenty of time to walk around, it is huge and we didn’t see all of it.
Katie heard that unless an exorbitant amount was paid to have a mausoleum in perpetuity, they were for the most part rentals. Remains are removed after ten years for new bodies.
We walked around and found Jim Morrison’s Grave. True to the stories we’ve heard there was a couple, lighting up but then they were immediately asked to leave. The guard appeared out of nowhere to escort them from the cemetery
After the cemetery we walked along the canal until it meets the Seine. Then we walked along the river.
We sat and ate our dinner in front of Notre Dame. Some sky rats joined us but luckily it was early so there were no ground rats in sight.
We continued to walk along the Seine enjoying a beautiful sunset. While walking along the Seine we saw the flood marker below. In 1910, the Seine flooded to eight meters (26 ft.) above its normal level. The flood last for almost a month and people had to figure out new transportation by boat around the city.
We walked along the river, enjoying a beautiful sunset to the Eiffel tower before heading home.
We saw some more cool graffiti on our walk home. Highlights below
Day 97
Today was our last day in Paris. We needed to do some prep for traveling tomorrow like getting new sim cards for phone data. We also wanted to enjoy one last walk through Paris. Unfortunately the weather had other plans. It rained all morning. When it looked like it was stopping we headed out for phone cards. After a 30 minute walk and getting slightly damp from the rain we arrived at the phone store and found out you need your passport for a phone card in France. We headed back to the AirBnb as it started raining harder.
Passports in hand we took the train back to the phone store. Something different about trains in Paris, on some of the lines, you open the doors. This leads to people in a hurry opening the doors while the train is still in motion.
- Manual handle
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jHuWmmC_UcA&feature=youtu.be
Back at the phone store we found out that data cards are expensive here. 40 Euros for 2 weeks and 10GB of data compared to 15 Euros for 4 weeks and 6 GB of data that we bought in the Netherlands. We really only need one phone with data so we decided to save 40 Euros (that could buy 4 nights in Thailand) and only get one data sim card.
In the square nearby there was a festival going on. We walked through and found out that cotton candy is called barbe à papa which means dad’s beard! We strolled the streets of Paris. We reminisced on the last three weeks and stopped for coffee at a cafe we had drinks at our first day here.
We ended the day packing for Nice. This is the first time that we are flying since coming from the US so we need to squeeze everything into carry on size again. We did Cinq pizza again for dinner. We tried their wings and they were delicious.
Day 98
Moving day today wasn’t too bad (train, bus, plane, taxi) 🚇🚌✈️🚕 Katie tried French candy at the airport. The new AirBnb has a bigger kitchen! Cameron made dinner. 🙂
Day 99
Cam dipped his toes in the water. We had read that the beaches here were rocky but it was still surprising how big the rocks on the beach were. We are going to figure out how to sit comfortably on the rocks over the next week!
More from Nice next week.
Keeping Up With Cam and Katie 