Remember that the most beautiful things in the world are the most useless; peacocks and lilies for instance. ~John Ruskin, The Stones of Venice, 1851

Today I finally got to go to Versailles and it was absolutely as beautiful as I have heard all these years. We took a tram down a long ways before getting onto an RER I have not been on before... it went out towards the suburbs of Paris actually. It was only about a 30ish minute ride so it wasn't bad at all. It was, however, not such beautiful day, it was rainy and windy, and very cold... but we made it inside safe and sound and began exploring all through the mansion. It's like something out of a dream. It's almost impossible to believe that something like it exists and that it was actually a home for people at one point in time. It wasn't built to be an over the top tourist attraction or a Disney attraction or to be something that was just admired (well not entirely) it was actually a home for people. For royalty, of course, but it was still a home, a palace like none other.

It was a bit crowded but nothing too bad. And the group I was with, 6 of us altogether, was made up of me, another student, and 4 professors so it was really a neat chance to get several different perspectives on the art and the design of the palace. We spent a few hours just exploring the palace. My favorite area was the Dauphan area which is where the future kings would live before they became King. It was interesting because it was nowhere near as ornate as the rest of the palace. The ceilings were not gold and painted, the walls were not velvet and silk. But it was still more than any child could dream of, and the colors were amazing, such beautiful shades of green and blue.

The paintings were what amazed me most, all the paintings covering the ceilings, the walls, everywhere you look. I wonder how many artists had to slave away for years to create such a beautiful palace and such beautiful artwork. The paintings of the children were my favorite. It was so adorable to see these small children dressed in the elaborate style of their parents. It looked just like they had wandered into their parent's closets and were playing dress up in Mom and Dad's clothing. It was also really cool to see Marie Antionette's room where she lived and all the art of her as well.

We headed outside after that and began for the gardens... but the weather had gotten much worse. It was raining and windy and absolutely freezing. It was also well past lunch time and there was nowhere to get to to get food so after some debate, we turned back. The weather was so yucky we would not have really gotten the chance to savor and enjoy the gardens. I'm glad we did. I would much rather see the gardens when I have time to enjoy them, not when I'm running through them in freezing rain. So that's something to look forward the next time I'm in Paris.

After I got back to the Cite I headed out again to the Grand Opera which actually served as the inspiration for The Phantom of The Opera. it was so amazing walking the stair well, thinking of all the great songs and the great movie too. It was a really surreal experience and it flowed so well with Versailles since they both are so ornate places of excessive, unnatural beauty. They're both a gaudy type of beauty that is totally a creation of mankind.

After that we went out for gelato and it was amazing! Nothing like in the States. it's creamy and smooth, sweeter than ice cream, and like just eating cream. It's so great. There is one kind called L'inmitable (probably misspelled that) but it's nutella gelato and it is so good. I had some yesterday too, but I really like it. For those of you who are unfamiliar with Nutella, it is like the french equivalent of peanut butter. it's smooth, creamy, spread onto sandwhiches, only it's more chocolate tasting. It's made of almonds and hazelnut and is much smoother and sweeter than peanut butter. It is also available in the States and I highly recommend giving it a try!

After gelato, we went out for a nice dinner at a small little italian restaurant and just enjoyed the evening. I came in early because my feet have been really hurting the past few days so I thought I'd let them rest this evening, and also work on my packing. Right now I'm hoping to get by with just taking two carry on bags and my big suitcase... that's my goal at least! It looks like maybe it will work. I am getting rid of pretty much all of my toiletry items, and most of my books so that's a lot of weight freed up. And a lot of the things I bought are not overly heavy items so we'll see....Thankfully they're setting up a scale before we leave so we can all check our bags weight before we get to the air port.

I'm really nervous about going through customs since I've never done that before. I hope it won't be too bad... I mean I don't think I have anything to declare or anything like that so hopefully it will al go smoothly. Tomorrow I'm going to a cemetery bright and early and then to the flea market and then the Louvre! The evening I'll probably spend studying since finals are on Monday!

Bon soir!!