With full stomachs we hopped on the metro and stepped out and were facing something so spectacular: the Palace of Versailles. It started as a small little building as was constructed into one of the most complex and extravagant buildings in the world. It housed Louis XIV, Louis XV, and Louis XVI. At the beginning, about 37,000 acres of land were cleared to put up trees lining the place, thousands of flowers and over one thousand fountains. In 1676, it was designed and a second floor was put into place as well as a Hall of Mirrors. Ongoing construction has taken place for centuries, and still is today. At one point after the fall of the monarchy, many furnishings and pieces in the palace were taken out but now have recently been placed back in their original positions. Just a few decades ago, the palace was restored to its’ original state and back to the way it was. Since many of the rooms are government offices, we were only allowed in the north, south and central wings.We took a few pictures and then met up with our tour guide who was waiting out front for us. It was about a three hour tour walking into as many rooms as we could. There was a professional tour guide up front with a microphone in which we heard through ear pieces that we wore. Some of the rooms were filled with mirrors and paintings bigger than I thought possible. The furniture in every room was so old and it looked too beautiful to touch. They said we could sit on the couch, but it looked to special to get near it! We ended our tour with a walk around the outside gardens. Much of it was roped off, but we went upstairs to look out across the whole thing. That in itself is a work of art. Honestly, that was my favorite part because the flowers were so beautiful! Here in this picture, you can see how breath taking it was. I cannot even imagine how much work it took to get it to look like this! Although, the picture does nothing compared to actually being there.
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| Gardens at Palace of Versailles! |
After that, we thanked the tour guide and then roamed around a little bit on our own, basking in the beauty surrounding us. After that, it was almost 2 pm and we were starving! We headed out to grab lunch. We had such a delightful lunch at the Hard Rock Café. One of the most famous restaurants in the world, it didn’t fail to impress us. We even had to stand in line for about an hour to get in because it was such a popular place! Pictures of famous rock and roll musicians lined every wall. If there wasn't a picture on the wall, a huge TV screen showing sporting events around the world was on the wall instead. Taking a break from all the unique French food we ate several days straight, we enjoyed some American food such as cheeseburgers and hot dogs We then headed across the street to a store where we purchased some souvenirs such as Hard Rock Café t-shirts and water bottles. I guess we were very excited to be at this Cafe and we all spent a total of 62 euros.
With our tummies full, we began our journey to our next place which was incredible! We went to the Grevin Wax Museum! It was so spectacular and one of the coolest things I've ever seen! Founded by Arthur Meyer in 1882, it is one of the oldest wax museums in Europe. It now contains over four hundred and fifty figures, in which we were only able to make it around to a portion of those. It also has a theatre for magic shows to be performed. We did not see a show, but if I’m ever back in France, it is definitely something I’d love to do. In every room, there was a famous figure made of wax and they looked so real! I learned a lot about French history, because many figures in the exhibits were those of significance in France from this century to many ago. I will always wonder how they look that way, but it is the beauty of it to not really know. They all looked just so real I could have mistaken them for a real person! They also had a hall of fascinating mirrors, where I was highly entertained. Each mirror distorted you in some way, and if was pretty cool! We had fun in there playing like little children running from mirror to mirror. I could have spent hours and hours in there, but we were tired and ready to hit the hotel for the night. Overall, it was such a fantastic day and I can’t wait for what awaits us tomorrow! 
Brunch at the Ze Kitchen Galerie = 55 euros
Cab = 7.60 euros
Hard rock cafe Souvenirs = 62 euros
Standing in the Garden of Versailles = Pricless
Total For today = $ 164.34
Grand Total overall= $8353.54
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