Just when it seemed we'd escaped the schizophrenic Prague spring weather (warm and sunny one minute, then rain and hail the next), it showed up in Paris. Luckily for me, the weather more or less cooperated with all of my picture-taking opportunities.
I was on my own on Saturday, since I had decided to head out to Versailles as early in the morning as possible (which turned out to be more like 10am...I am still a college student after all). To get to Versailles, you have to take a train from Paris that lasts about 20 minutes followed by a short walk to the chateau. Basically, it's massive. I was there for nearly 3 hours and I still didn't see anywhere close to everything I could have.
After Versailles, I came back to Paris and stopped first at the Eiffel Tower. Fortunately, in between downpours I was able to get some pictures. From the Eiffel Tower, I had quite the public transport ordeal. There are two types of "metros" in Paris: the Metro and the RER, which runs farther out of the city and (for me) impossible to understand. The RER didn't like me on this day, so I ended up doing quite a bit of walking in the rain.
Finally, though, I was able to make it to Ile de la Cite to see the Cathedral of Notre Dame. Again, the rain clouds went away just as I was arriving so I got some good pictures. Over the course of the semester I've seen my fair share of gothic churches thanks to my art and architecture class, but the cathedral impressed nevertheless. After, I wandered over to the Centre Pompidou and in the Beauburg area.
Front gate of Versailles
One of the many, many rooms
I'm fairly certain I remember this hallway from the movie Marie Antoinette
Inner gate from the front of the palace
Front of the palace
Church inside
Ceiling of the church
Hall of Mirrors
Someone important's bedroom...possibly Marie Antoinette, I don't really remember
Lots of big paintings
The back of the palace from the gardens
As backyards go, I think this one can hold its own
I like this fountain. A lot.
Final shot of Versailles before going back to Paris
La Tour Eiffel!
The sun came out just to make me happy
This is the best I could do to make the tower not completely coming out of the back of my head
The Eiffel Tower from Ile de la Cite
Crossing a bridge onto Ile de la Cite
I'm kind of a big fan of these "Parisian" buildings--we're learning about them in art and architecture this week as a matter of fact
Looking down the Seine
Art nouveau metro stop
Flower market near Notre Dame
Notre Dame
Straight on view
And now from the other side...
I did slightly better with Notre Dame than I did with the Eiffel Tower
Yes, I waited in this line to get inside the cathedral.
The Return of Ribbed Vaulting
Candles in the church
Rose window
Looking down the cathedral
More sun!
They really like their carrousels in Paris
Centre Pompidou
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