Words
At first, I thought it would be fun to write up a quick summary of each day as we went along, with photos sprinkled throughout the text.
It turns out writing coherent things is hard, especially after an entire day spent in full tourist mode, and I haven't written much of anything at all.
I might get around to typing something better later, but for now here's a few words and pictures.
Paris
Angela on the stairs to Guy Savoy, considered by some to be the best restaurant in the world:
The meal was exceptional; I might try to grab some of the pictures Angela took of all the courses later.
A small sample of Sainte-Chapelle, a chappel commisioned in the 13th century by Louis the IX to house holy relics:
We climbed all seven million steps of the Arc de Triomphe, and got a nice view of Paris from the top:
In addition to touring above ground, we also toured below in Paris' famous metro system:
We tried doing a bus tour, which looked something like this:
The boat tour (tacked on as part of the bus tour) swept by several sights on the Seine, e.g. the Cathedral of Notre Dame:
The cathedral itself was closed due to the recent fire, but the massive construction work around it is fairly representative of the city itself as it prepares for the 2024 Olympics.
Versailles
Before setting out on the barge trip, most of the group got together for a day in Versailles. Biking around the grounds was far too enjoyable to stop and take pictures, but Angela wanted documentation of the Petit-Trainon:
Given that Marie Antoinette spent most of here days there, it's a bit disquieting how much some windows look like guillotines:
Once we got to the main palace, it was quite crowded. This room has the traditional arrangement of Heaven above, Earth in the middle, and Hell below:
Shortly before leaving for the trip, Angela found a picture of her grandfather in the hall of mirrors, so she needed a similar shot:
(To be continued)