Versailles, Not "Vehr-Sai-Les"

So, let's say you're in Paris.  And it's all a bit overwhelming.  And you just think, "Ehhhh, it takes effort to get the train that goes out to Versailles and it will probably be incredibly crowded and it's hot and I can do so much right here and crepes."

All of that is true.

But, if you don't go to Versailles, then you'll regret it and you'll miss out.  Because even if, by the end of the day, you're sweaty and have blisters, you'll have been to Versailles and you get it.  Because you can't understand that Versailles is Versailles! until you see it.

For one, Versailles (the palace complex, not the town...) is absolutely gigantic.  You've heard that, I know, but until you're walking from the main "porch" down past all the fountains and hedged gardens, past the man-made lake, up through the tree-lined promenades, through the Trianon palaces (the retreat away from Versailles which was, in itself, meant as a retreat) and their gardens, and to Marie Antoinette's little Disneylandesque peasant village - well, that's about 45 minutes at a good clip with no stopping.  There's a reason you can rent golf carts at Versailles.

Beyond the size, of course, is the architecture - the ornate, lovely architecture,  Not just of the palace itself, but of the detail that went into the landscape too.  Having been there, I'd be interested to hear anyone's recommendations about the film that just came out, A Little Chaos, about the landscape architects (and romance and France and period costumes) of Versailles.

And speaking of films, that's another reason to go!  Films and books now make more sense.  Or at least you can place it all in your mind.  We watched the Kirsten Dunst Marie Antoinette right after going to Versailles the first time and it made me like that movie 50,000 times more because you knew exactly where everything was happening and could really imagine it.

Anyway, here's the breakdown, to get to Versailles you take a train about 40ish minutes out of central Paris and then a ten minute walk to the front gates.  You will most likely need to stand in line, even if you already have your Paris City Passes (highly recommended) to get through security.  But then you can head into the palace or choose to go through the gardens or out to the Trianons first.

You're going to be exhausted by the end of the day and every part is amazing, so I'd just choose to go wherever the crowds are thinnest first.

To the pictures!

The second time we went to Versailles was on the epic European Tour I took my parents and sister on in the summer of 2014.  Going in June was much more crowded than the first time we went in September, but it had its upsides too.  

One being that we had someone to take a picture of us in the crowded Hall of Mirrors instead of doing that awkward hold-camera-out-as-far-as-you-can-and-just-get-our-heads thing.  

But the real big reason to go in the summer (and on the right days of the week) is so you can see the fountains!  They weren't running in September when we went, but holy moly, make sure you're there to see them!  Allllll 30+ of them, all featured in unique hedged enclosures with different fountain...uhhh... spraying....designs (?) and statuary.  It's kind of amazing.

Then off to the Trianon Palaces - designed as a getaway from the bustle of the giant palace of Versailles.  Their relative simplicity and cozy sizes in more relaxed, wildflower gardens are just perfect.  I didn't really appreciate them the first time we went (because my feet were super tired by the time we got there and back), but the second time, in June, I was just completely in love with the Trianons.

Then it's off to see Marie Antoinnette's little peasant village she built to play dress-up in.  Or, in a more forgiving history, to have a place to really be herself, relaxed, and natural.  It's historically interesting, if not a bit strange of a place.  Uber cute, with geese and sheep and cows (and something similar to marmots?) running around plus even a little fake lighthouse on a little fake lake.  The first foray into hyperrealism that my Humanities teachers talked about with such disdain.  Meh.  I liked it.  It's intriguing.

It's the farthest you can get from the palace (purposefully) so I hope you bring a picnic lunch with you because you need to rest at this point to survive the hike back through the promenades, gardens, palace courtyard, and town to get back to the train station for your 40 minutes back to Paris.

Or, you know, you can actually be sane and ride around on the little trams that run between sights.  But, where's the fun in that?

Long and short, go to Versailles.  It takes a whole day.  And it's worth it.

Bonus picture:

Well...okay....what? Wait...so....?

Paris: Whoa, The Entire Blog Could Be About Paris

I...could spend a month, everyday, writing about our two visits to Paris.  What you need to know is that Paris is absolutely everything that it's hyped up to be.  I mean, every single over-the-top thing you know from movies or books or whatever, it's all true.

Except berets.  No one wears berets.  Come on.

And the other thing you should know is that before I went to Paris I was 145% sure that no city could ever be better than London.  But...guys...Paris is better than London.  I'm sorry.  I'm so sorry, but it is.  So much guilt admitting this opinion.

The first time we went to Paris was September 2013.  Frankly, it was a lame time of my life.  I have a pretty great life, now, but September 2013 in particular was, like, real, real bad for me.  And even going into the trip with all that "ughhhh why is the world exploding around me????" baggage, it still was breathtakingly beautiful.

The second time we went to Paris was June 2014, when I took my parents and sister around as their tour guide.  The thing I most remember about that time was that we lived in a beautiful apartment across from the Luxembourg Gardens.

I honestly don't know how to write about Paris here.  It  doesn't make sense to try and list everything we saw or did.  Maybe I'll just pick five memories and blitz you with a bunch of pictures.  Sounds good.

* Walking through the Marais and stumbling on the Jewish Quarter with all its bagels and delis and synagogues was a delightful surprise - I'm always interested in cultural enclaves and this one was the first vibrantly Jewish community I'd ever been to.

* The Saint-Chappelle windows were even more beautiful than I could have imagined, and I've imagined them for a very long time.  Ever since seeing them in my Humanities 101 class over 10 years ago.  Live living in a jewelbox.

* Taking a fat-tire bike tour at night was a super fun activity - not only did we get some exercise, but got to see how the different neighborhods of the city interconnected.  Plus the river cruise at the end was magical - watching from the deck as the Eiffel Tower sparkled and the Notre Dame glowed.  I loved it.

* Finding a little crepe shop our friends recommended to us (they used to live in Paris) off in a "real Parisian neighborhood", getting a couple eclairs with Paul from a kind old lady's bakery, and sitting in a park to eat them while we watched families coming home from school and day care playing.  

* Being surprised at how emotional I got seeing the Waterlilies at the Orangerie.  Maybe it was because my expectations were low, but those canvases are maybe the most beautiful works of art I've ever, personally, experienced.

Belém: Where People Really Go When They Go to Lisbon

In our short experience with Lisbon, we realized pretty quickly that the "big sights" were actually a bit outside of the main city in the historical port of Belém.  This was the place where all the ships during the height of the age of discovery set off down the coast of Africa.  So, Belém is the place with all the big memorials to exploration, the old port tower, and of course, the amazing Jerónimos Monastery.

This monastery, I mean, wow.  First, it's blindingly white and absolutely huge, covered in the most intricate carvings and elaborate columns and arches.  Which, you know, is fitting since it was pretty much funded by the huge influx of money Portugal got from importing spices in the 15th century.

I remember being particularly in love with how every column was completely unique, but the entire place as a whole still came together without looking absolutely insane.  It was hands down the most amazing place we saw in Portugal.

Right in front of the monastery, where the sailors would have their last mass before heading off into terra incognita, you can walk across a giant plaza covered in Lisbon's famous black and white mosaics and toward the giant Monument to the Explorers and the Tower of Belém.

For such a hugely important place, it's actually not super easy to get to - we ended up taking a taxi, actually, but it's totally worth it!  

And, after you see it all, get a little sunburned, and learn waaaaay more about the age of exploration than you ever could have imagined, you can go to the little, famous bakery next to the monastery and get yourself some Pasteis de Belém - the pastry of Portugal, a little custard filled tart that is kind of mind-blowing.  Sit out under the trees (because shoot, it's hot there), and take it all in.  

Lisbon: Wonderfully Unexpected

We went to Lisbon is August, so...hot.  Yes.  And one of the more vivid memories of the trip was us waiting in a searing hot street with no shade for forty minutes for one of the old-timey trams that were supposed to come every ten.  It was one of those situations where we waited, decided to switch sides of the street, then the tram would come right when we left, and so then we'd wait again, and switch sides, and the tram would come on the other side!! etc.  It was hot.  It was frustrating.  We didn't like it.  Bleh.

BUT, on our second try enjoying Lisbon, we really warmed up to it...and the trams too.  Our better plan that day was to just take it easy and not feel like we had to check off fifteen things in an afternoon.  That kind of jazz just isn't the way things go over there on the Iberian peninsula. 

So we went to the aquarium, strolled around the castle, got the view at the top of one of the more picturesque hills, and wandered down into the old (oooold old old, tiny alleyways, clothes hanging out to dry between buildings, cobblestone, etc.) Alfama fisherman neighborhood around dinnertime. 

I remember turning a corner to see a little restaurant where you ate on tables in a tiny courtyard underneath the shade of a single ancient olive tree with lights crisscrossed above, it was just a little bit of magic - and the bacala deserves its own special mention. 

I don't know, it was just...so...nice to take a day to just wander around and come across things on our own.  We don't let ourselves do that often enough in our trips because most of the time we're so worried about regrets for missing a "big site", but I have to remember that, for me, the best memories have usually been the little discoveries - a particular black and white pattern on the sidewalks (Lisbon is famous for the black and white mosaic sidewalks), a tiled wall in a flowered courtyard, a neighborhood ice cream shop, peeking out of the open window of a trolley car as it goes up a narrow hill street, coming up from the metro by our hotel at the bull fighting ring stop and walking it's red and yellow walls (surprisingly smaller building than I'd expected) one last time. 

We had a really nice time in Lisbon, you know.  Really nice.

Sintra(!): Go to There

August 2013, we went for a long weekend to Portugal.

Now, Portugal wasn't ever on our list of top trips, so when we had a chance to get there for real cheap, I have to say that my expectations were pretty low and I had a kind of, "Meh, sure.  It will be interesting at least...don't know much about Portugal" attitude.

And, in my rankings of European capitals, Lisbon is a solid C+, I'd say.  Interestin' places to see though, get to all that later, but overall it was kind of just a big, hot city as far as we got to in our first two days.   

But, then, on a recommendation from a friend who had just visited, we decided one day to take a train further toward the west coast to Sintra and Sintra was AWESOME.

First off, the second we got off the train, I was sold because suddenly everything was lush and green and ten degrees cooler (way different from the more scrubby, Mediterranean look closer to Lisbon).  We walked down a little street toward the city center lined with tiny cafes and got some lemonade - something which has just not existed in Northern Europe, at least not enough to find easily.  And after our little break found ourselves in this beautiful little town full of palaces and Moorish fountains and gardens and hilltop castles and it was just lovely.

 Our first stop was to the royal family's Summer Palace, full of all kinds of beautiful ceilings, weird animal head soup tureens, tiled walls, and paintings of saints in negligees (yes, that actually is the plural form there).  One of my favorites were the corn-motif tiles, made right when the age of exploration was really kicking off.

  Then, we found the (very, very necessary) bus that drove to the top of the hill nearby to the insaaaaane Pena Palace.  It's kind of like the Neuschwanstein of Portugal - a castle built with all kinds of crazy styles all mashed together to look "fairytale"ish.  The end result here, though, was just a little...uh...wild.

And finally, we ended our day a little lower on the hill to see the old Moorish fortress and look out over the city before hiking back down and in search of dinner.

Dinner, by the way, was unbelievable.  Some kind of shellfish stew that exploded my understanding of the universe.

And you know what was super awesome about Sintra, even after we left?  Two things.  1) The Amazing Race went to Sintra right around the same time we did (woo!  one step closer to fame!) and 2) The NYT highlighted it as a new hotspot for those who are hip and cool a whole year after we went ourselves.  So #trendsetting.

Takeaway message is Sintra, go to there.