when we left off, i had gone for a massive walk around paris to the madeleine and culminating in me at the place de la concorde looking up the champs elysees. by this time, i was well and truly stuffed - i was so thirsty and just needed a seat! but the tourist thing still called, and i had a poke around the grand palais and the petit palais (i don't know what was on, but there were thousands of people around there). i then started off up the massive avenue des champs elysees.

it was a really nice walk, apart from there being people everywhere! i was in desperate need of a drink of some sort, but all the cafes were full and i couldn't find anywhere that looked like a convenience store! so in the end, i headed into maccas. classy eh?! but when you're desperate.... so i ordered a cup of tea, and a bottle of water (which was soooo overpriced!), and i saw little boxes of 6 maccas macarons, so i grabbed one of those too. as much as i don't like going to maccas, the one thing they have is wifi (hooray!), so i was able to skype my friend while i sat there eating my macarons and drinking my tea.

anyway, after the refreshments (and no, i didn't eat all the macarons... 4 of them went back with me to the hotel), i headed to the arc de triomphe.



i'd never been up it before, so with my museum pass in hand, i ducked to the front of the line (hooray!) and started the climb to the top... yes, that's 284 steps up, and 284 down... oh my poor, tired legs!



but the view is sooooo worth it!





after drinking my fill of the view, i headed to the charles de gaulle etoile metro station and caught the train back to the hotel, where i got changed for dinner. my friend had told me about this amazing place in the marais district so i was keen to check that out for dinner. i realised that might not have been such a good idea while i was walking there from the metro station, since i was alone and received way too much attention due to my long blonde hair. i did manage to find my way there though, only to see that it was closed. with no idea where to go for dinner from there, i stumbled into this lovely little restaurant called grizzli cafe, where i had lamb shanks, potato gratin, creme brulee and a nice glass of wine for dinner. after eating my fill, i headed on back to the hotel feeling very content.

the next day, i was off to versailles. ok, i'm going to say again how amazing the public transport is in paris - it is so easy to get around and work out the maps, even for a non-frenchie like me! i love it! so i had to get to the musee d'orsay to change for the RER train out to versailles... no problem!

i arrived in versailles a bit before 9am and got off the train and walked with the many others over to the palace. thankfully, i arrived before all the tour buses turned up, but it wasn't long before the line i was standing in was snaking all the way down from the palace to the gates (it was preeeeeettty long!).



it took me about 30 minutes or so to get in, so it wasn't too bad. glad i got there when i did though! i went in and was immediately struck by the beauty of the palace... click read more to see more photos!





the organ and ceiling inside



unfortunately, there was no dodging the crazy photo-taking tourists who were more interested in snapping pics of things than actually learning about them...



so pretty - hall of mirrors



around about 11am, i was walking past these stairs when i spotted a sign for angelina, the famous tea house on the rue de rivoli in paris. it seems they have one also in the palace of versailles. so i thought it was perfect timing for a cup of tea. they also had a plate of 4 macarons on the menu, which i assume is meant for sharing, but i ate them all... and very happily too, since they were delicious! so i had a pot of angelina's special blend of tea (a box of which i also brought home with me), and a plate with a raspberry, chocolate, coconut and salted caramel macaron. oh my goodness, the salted caramel one just blew me away!!

after my very nice morning tea, i headed back to join the steady stream of people wending their way through the palace. unlike other people there, i was very interested in taking photos of the amazingly old parquetry floors, the colourful wallpaper and the totally incredible chairs and other furnishings. i realise that this makes me a little odd.....





the gardens were also pretty amazing... though i didn't go through these ones as the lines were just too long!



i left the palace then to head over to the chateaux de trianon, and marie antoinette's house. unfortunately, because i didn't go through the gardens, i had to walk around the palace and gardens to get there. about halfway up the avenue de trianon, i realised that i should have waited and gone into the gardens! plus, there was a taxi service there and back for people with tickets... bugger! it was a lovely day, so i didn't mind the walk, it was just that i was so pooped that i was willing myself up the road! finally, though, i got there, and it was so worth it!





gardens of the trianon



it was just really the most beautiful place - the gardens smelled of roses (they were everywhere), it was sunny and warm, and it really was heaven. it was nicer being there than with the hordes of people at the palace of versailles - although that was much grander, there were just too many people. i could have happily stayed there all day, i loved it there. but it was time to be heading back...

unfortunately, being in the trianon without a ticket for the gardens meant that i had to walk alllll the way back to the train station! again, it was really a case of me willing my feet to move, but i finally got there in the end.

the plan was then to head to pere lachaise, the most famous cemetery in paris. but i decided to go back to the hotel and shower and lie down for a bit. which meant that by the time i got to pere lachaise, they were closing the doors and booting people out. on the way there, i went through this cool market, though sadly couldn't buy anything because of a) needing to somehow get it home and b) not being able to talk to people due to lack of french skills. so, a little disheartened, i decided to go back to the champs elysees and have dinner there.

i caught the train to the place de la concorde, and just revelled again in how beautiful it is in paris





i found a restaurant off the champs elysees, and it is one place that i wish i had never found - considering the french people are meant to have the best food in the world, this was absolutely crap. considering there were people already in there eating... maybe they were all lost tourists too. anyway, after that meal, i must have had a death wish because i climbed the 284 steps again to the top of the arc de triomphe! i really wanted to see it in the dark, but considering it got dark about 10pm, it was just not going to happen. but it was still lovely...





it was nice and cool up there and, considering it had been such a warm day, it was nice to just sit up there and chill out. after gazing at the sights for a while, and deciding that twice up there was enough, i headed back to the hotel, and collapsed into a deep sleep!

next time is montmartre, notre dame, pantheon and the palais and jardins du luxemborg. hope to see you then!