The Grass is Greener: Paris Day Three

On the third day of being in Paris, I didn't spend much time in Paris but more in the surrounding areas. My first stop of the day was at the Cergy Outdoor Market. It was kind of like a farmer's market. You could buy anything that you could possibly imagine, from fresh fruit to jeans and sweaters. Most of the vendors there were immigrants and a lot of Arabic was spoken by me. I loved it! It was a really great feeling to be able to communicate and be understood.

After the market, we headed over to Versailles, which is about a 30-45 min drive from Paris. The minute I saw the Palace of Versailles, I was seriously blown away with it's grandness and beauty. I completely understand why the common French people would have been angry enough to start the French Revolution.

The Chapel

Marie Antoinette and her children.

The king's bed. He was very short

Hidden door that Marie Antoinette used to escape from the mob.

Marie Antoinette's bed.

If you want to see both the palace and the Hamlet of Marie Antoinette, I highly recommend getting the Paris Museum Pass. I only had enough time to see the palace and the surrounding gardens. If you don't care to see the palace, the gardens are free to enter and are completely breathtaking. It takes about an hour to see all of the gardens and while I was there, I saw runners taking a run around the gardens, which made me green with envy.

Hall of Mirrors

The palace is extremely huge and beautiful and I was a bit overwhelmed by it all. I didn't have a tour guide with me, but I recommend downloading the Rick Steve's Versailles tour from iTunes before you make your visit. It really does help explain the history of the palace and the different rooms and importance of them. By far my favorite room was the Hall of Mirrors. It was so glamorous and I'm all about glam.

The gardens were probably my most favorite experience at Versailles. They had beautiful fountains and ponds; you could even rent a boat to enjoy the ponds! Walking through the gardens made me feel like I was walking through a maze and at every corner I was surprised with a marble statue that was grander and more intriguing than the previous one.