The Sawyer Stories

Our day once again started early as we prepared to check off the next items on our France list. We caught a morning train to make the hour long trek out of Paris to Versailles. Since we arrived in Paris, Michael and I were constantly noting the similarities between Paris and DC (even more so than London). While purely French, the architecture, city layout, and flowering trees reminded us of home. Well, you know what is like nothing back in the states? A palace. A huge, opulent palace with golden gates. The Palace of Versailles is by far the most ornate place we’ve ever been, and we were only on the outside! Louis XIV was not messing around.

We had timed tickets for the first block of the day (once again living on Joani tips) and joined the long line of excited visitors. Inside, we shared a set of AirPods to listen to the guided tour as we wandered from room to room.

I’m not quite sure how to put it into words, but every inch of every room has been decorated. Walls, floors, ceilings covered in paintings, sculptures, and fabric; each room with its own style and theme.

Our favorite space was the famous hall of mirrors overlooking the gardens.

Once we finished our self-guided tour, we made our way out to the gardens. Seeing that they were checking tickets, we got our passes ready. Oh wait, what is that in the fine print (once again)…sans le jardin. Separate tickets were needed, so we made our way to a new line to buy them. We were trying to get inside quickly because we had bike rentals waiting for us at 11. The weather was now at a perfect sunny spring day and we were excited to ride our way through the incredibly curated paths. Now where is the bike pick up…hmm…that’s interesting. There are no people here on bikes. How odd. Let’s check the bike rental email. <<insert blushing cheeks>> The bike rentals were for the city of Versailles not the palace gardens. Oops! Walking it is!

We walked every which way the wind took us and found our way down each path. We were a bit disappointed none of the fountains were operating, but we didn’t let that dampen our experience. Not much beats walking the grounds at the Palace of Versailles. We once again stopped to take stock of just how grateful we are.

We knew it was time to leave when our growling bellies because audible. Notice how this post doesn’t mention breakfast. That’s because we were living off a Larabar and small snack.

Finding places with anything vegan in Paris has proven to be very difficult. Not an easy task for a place known for meat, cheese, and pastries. We finally found a burger place not too far off and enjoyed getting to see new neighborhoods in Versailles. If we moved here, this is where I’d choose to live.

We made our way back to Paris for the afternoon adventures: cathedrals. First stop, Notre Dame. We didn’t have timed tickets here, but it’s free to those who are willing to wait.

We had perfect timing because we made it inside right as the 3:00 mass began. While we couldn’t understand any of it, it was beautiful to be a part of the space as it was intended.

Once mass ended, we walked the inside perimeter to view each side space. We worked to be quiet and respectful of those praying, lighting candles, or engaging in confession. I say worked to be quiet because my cathedral pattern continued when I raised my phone to take a picture and the portable charger detached and came crashing to the floor. Once again echoing. Once again causing others to glance. I really should not be let inside.

After a quick stop for Orangina and crepes, we headed over to Sainte Chapelle.

While this gothic cathedral is no longer functioning, it has been preserved because of the incredible stain glass inside. When you emerge from the spiral stairs, it really does take your breath away. I thought there would be huge windows displays like I’ve seen in other locations. Instead, these were thousands of small repeated frames of stories that remained a mystery to us. Even though it was a bit overcast outside, the light still shown through beautifully.

Our apartment was not far from Sainte Chapelle, so we stopped to rest and recharge before heading to our evening adventure. What’s the best way to end a perfect day? A trip to the top of the Eiffel Tower! When we were booking tickets a few months back, we were looking for day tickets. Turns out, tickets for 10:00 at night were a huge blessing in disguise.

The lines were super short and I have to think the night lights far surpass the day views. To get to the top, you first take a larger cable/elevator to the second floor. This is as high as many people go. We then got in another line for a smaller elevator that took you straight to the top. From there we had 360 views of the city. We worked to find all the places we’d visited the past few days and speculating how much higher this was than the Washington Monument back home (more than double the height upon research).

We took the elevator back to the second floor and then decided to climb the stairs back to the ground (674 steps). One of our favorite Eiffel Tower facts is that it took 2 years to build, but it takes 7 years to paint. And as soon as they finish painting, they start over again. As we walked down and looked at intricate metal beams angling every which way, we could see why it would take that long.

We ended the night checking our step count. This day took the cake for most steps. We may have been asleep before our heads hit the pillow.