Versailles

After an exhausting full day in another country, we planned to make another trip outside of Paris.  The city of Versailles is only about 30 minutes away, so we decided to get up early and head out to see the famous city of Marie Antoinette.  When we got there, the line to get into the Palace was outrageously long, so we skipped that and decided to head straight to Marie Antoinette's cottage and gardens.  Of course it was raining, so it was nice to get out of the cold, wet atmosphere.  I am glad that I saw the Marie Antoinette movie before going there because it brought her cottage to life.  Her cottage is situated on acres and acres of beautiful land, equipped with an awesome farm, and flowers everywhere.  We spent quite a few hours walking around her land, and decided to head back to Paris, in the rain. 

When we arrived back in Paris, we stumbled upon Les Deux Maggots and Cafe de Flour, two famous restraunts, and both places that Julia Child and Ina Garten frequented.  We sat down at Les Deux Maggots and had some Champagne.  After sparking a conversation with a guy sitting next to us, we ordered some French cheeses and some more Champagne.  The guy sitting at the table next to us happened to be working in Paris for the last three months as a lawyer, and was leaving to go back to LA on Wednesday.  He was fluent in French, and it was nice to have someone order for us in French, without the waiter looking at us wierd.  Our new friend offered to take us to a part of Paris that is hard to spot unless you live in Paris and speak the language.  Knowing that he was harmless, we took him up on his offer and were excited to see another part of the city. 

He took us to a quaint little area with tons of cafes, lots of french people, and new scenery.  The food was great! I had onion soup, salmon with a butter sauce and rice, and creme brulee for dessert.  After we left, we decided to go to another cafe and have a glass of wine.  It ended up being the place where Hemingway lived.  We met an older English man that was there for the French Open.  He decided to have some drinks with us before we headed back home.  It was great to meet new people and actually have a conversation in English.  It is hard to communicate to the outside world when you don't speak the language, so it was nice to have others to converse with in the same language. 

Tomorrow we are planning on settling down and just walking around the city.  We have been going going going since we have been here, and we need to relax ourselves.  It is definitely tiresome traveling to new places.  But, we are having an awesome time doing it!