Carly's Ramblings Blog - Style

Paris - Day 2 - Day 24 Virtual Europe

30 Day Blogging Challenge

Aug. 24th Paris

Today {user:e;usive4lyn} had us heading to Versailles for a bike tour. Normally, I would not be interested in this, but since the Outlander Series did the second Diana Gabaldon book which takes place in France - some of it at Versailles - I am curious. I want to be able to walk where those actors walked as they brought Jamie and Claire's story to life. I was up at a decent hour, though for those that did some extra stuff last night it may be seem pretty early. Our tour started at 9 am and goes until 6 pm.

We walked to the RER train station and took the 30-minute trip by train to Versailles. Once there we got our bikes at an office just 5 minutes from the Palace of Versailles, our guide then took us to visit the Versailles' village market to buy baguettes, cheese, ham, wine and some fruit. He told us we would be having our picnic lunch in Versailles' gardens. I enjoyed picking out my assortment of foods and even splurged on a bottle of French wine - a white.

Then we were off to bike through the gardens behind Versailles palace. The bikes allowed us to leave much of the tourists on foot behind - they will only a small fraction of the palace gardens. We will see it all! The Versailles' gardens and forests are a crisscrossed network of trails and tree-lined paths. The views were amazing and I was glad I had gotten a new card for my camera so that I could take as many pictures as I wanted. I made sure to snap shots of my friends - Fivesixer and Kit of House Lannister posed for me in an almost kiss before they started giggling. I think they both enjoyed their wine as much as I did. I made sure to get our guide, Francois as well... Jellyfish-Vote Green on May 2! and SB Musing played it up by planting kisses on his cheeks at the same time. He seemed to love the attention. I got Prosperous Snow celebrating to take my picture with him... Elycia Lee ☮ got in that one as well and we did the same as the other ladies, kissing his cheeks at the same time. He swooned with all the attention.

Arriving at the far end of the Grand Canal, you'll settle down for a picnic in the exact spot where Louis XIV, XV and XVI ate in order to marvel at their palace. Relax on the grass in peace where only your cycling group will be able to easily reach this end of the Grand Canal. I feasted and enjoyed my wine - I was beginning to feel a little tipsy, so I laid back and closed my eyes I could almost see myself back in that time.
Apparently, the wine flowed very well and that left many of us a little unstable on our bikes. I chose to walk mine for awhile which gave me a chance to see and get the sense of how truly huge this place really is. Anyone walking would never get back this far. Lyn's a sly fox and Prosperous Snow celebrating walked along with me. We laughed at some of the others who tried to make a go of it. SB Musing and andy almost toppled over but saved themselves in time.
Back at the palace we got an unforgettable view into the lives of the French monarchy before their removal from power by the Revolution in 1789. We got to visit the Hall of Mirrors (site of the treaty ending World War I), the King's State Apartments and the amazing King's Chapel.
I was floating by the time we left to return to Paris via RER train. The place was so grand and opulent.

https://www.tripadvisor.com/AttractionProductDetail?product=3588VERSA&d=1886...

Tonight we're doing the Eiffel Tower. It should be interesting to see the City of Light flood with its glow as the evening descends as we are perched high up, overlooking the whole city. I have to agree with {user;elusive4lyn} that there couldn't be a better way to see the city of lights than by night.

We met a few streets away from the Eiffel Tower and avoided waiting in the line. Lyn has gotten us pre-booked, skip-the-line tickets which grants us priority access to the Eiffel Tower elevator, so we got to go straight up to the second level after learning about the building's fascinating history.

We got to hear the story of the man behind the Tower, Gustave Eiffel, and learn about the wonders behind this architectural and engineering feat as we viewed it up close. We got to hear the details of the World’s Fair of 1889, the year the tower was built. The first level offers a great cinematic theater where you can see exclusive video of the tower’s storied 120-plus-year history. It also featured one of the original spiral staircases that Gustave himself used daily to reach his office on the top level.

On the second level, our guide, Henri gave us plenty of time to take in the best views that Paris has to offer. There were two tiers on the second level, plenty of space to hear Henri as he explained the countless stunts and anecdotes from the tower’s past. There were some crazy exploits (like planes flying underneath the tower) and the tower’s role in everything from world wars to Hollywood movies. It was a great tour, but it reminded me a little of the stuff I have seen at Niagara Falls - all the history and crazy stunts. Definitely interesting though.

When our tour finished, I was happy to know our time on the Eiffel Tower didn’t end. Our ticket included access to the first level and the summit of the tower too. I had to go to the summit. You can't do this and not go all the way... even if the heights were a little daunting. At the top I purchased a glass of Champagne to celebrate my making it and got to enjoy it while I stared out over the City of Light. I was speechless. The view is AMAZING!

https://www.tripadvisor.com/AttractionProductDetail?product=3588EIFFELTOWER&...

Lyn had made several suggestions for gaming clubs here in Paris and although I had a great time doing them in Hamburg, I am more excited about tracking my way over to the Shakespeare and Co. Bookshop... and the café that they now have. I planned to stay until close - which is 11 pm. I have wanted to go here the moment I knew we were coming to Paris. If I have my way, I will be back before I go.

Shakespeare and Co.
“The original Shakespeare & Co, run by Sylvia Beach and beloved of Hemingway and his ilk, closed in the 1940s during the occupation of Paris (the site at 12 Rue de l’Odéon bears a plaque). In 1951, wandering spirit George Whitman opened Le Mistral at 37 Rue de la Bûcherie, re-naming it in 1964 in homage to Beach’s legacy (he also named his daughter after her). But the back history hardly matters now – George, who passed away in 2011 aged 98, turned the shop into something entirely unique and magical.

A gathering place, source of inspiration and often a bed for beat generation bohemians, writers, travellers and readers for over 60 years, Shakespeare & Company has hosted thousands of ‘tumbleweeds’ – volunteer helpers who sleep in the shop – and featured in numerous films, books and memoirs. The sprawling site includes a large used and antiquarian section, while the main store is a heavenly labyrinth of book-lined passages, alcoves and reading rooms full of secret corners, an unmissable destination for bibliophiles the world over. Sylvia Whitman now runs the store with as much charm as – if less eccentricity than – her father, launching an biennial literary festival and maintaining a strong focus on events and readings.”
This kind of shop is heaven to me. I read the book Time Was Soft There by Jeremy Mercer this summer. It is about his time staying at the bookshop. How I dream of doing the same.

The Cafe:
"A cosy, busy spot full of literary winks and nudges. There are literary winks and nudges a-plenty at this cosy spot, a 2015 addition to the celebrated Shakespeare and Company bookshop. The shelves are stocked with cookbooks, literary classics and second-hand novels, a loaf of Catcher in the Rye bread sits on the counter while a lattice-topped Love and Squalor fruit pie nudges up against a more prosaic lemon tart. At teatime – wait for it – Proust’s madeleines are warm from the oven.
The short menu of soup, salads and sandwiches (€5.50 to €9.50) has been put together by the good folk at Bob’s Bake Shop: expect home-made bagels, smoothies and juices (€4 to €6.50), Postcard Teas and Café Lomi coffees (€2.50 to €4.50), and tasty vegetarian and vegan options, alongside sweet treats (€2.50 to €5) including good ol’ American desserts such as pecan pie, and healthy cups of gluten-free crumble and chia pudding. A small cooler holds locally brewed Deck & Donohue craft beers and Sassy ciders from Normandy; on a blustery day, the hand-written specials board listed a home-made hot ginger lemonade.
Our lunch came served on tray liners printed with the Proust Questionnaire – (“1. What is your present state of mind?” Hungry.) Our simple bagel sandwiches (kale pesto, avocado, alfalfa sprouts and carrot on the one had, thick slices of comté and honey mustard on the other) (€8) were well put together, and toasted on request. Afterwards baked cheesecake, (€5) a brownie (€3.50) and slick espressos.
It’s not quite a place for lingering in, given the near-constant queue of customers angling for one of the few small tables inside. But on warmer days, the large sharing tables on the front terrace can welcome plenty of al fresco drinkers and diners.
BY: M. ASTELLA SAW"
I went back to the hotel afterward still buzzing with the atmosphere of the place.