Today was our day trip to Versailles! I feel like this is what I've been looking for the whole trip, and it was at the end- the end of Paris, which was tHe end of the trip. We even learned about it towards the end of the mini ester of classes. So it was a weird point in time to reach, this end of ends. I'm certainly excited for London, too, but this was big on the timeline.
The palace was made by king Louis, the sun god, and Marie Antoinette. Basically they wanted to be away from Paris, but to still make themselves important they just built this huge palace and grounds area that they had other important people live in. Inside the palace someone made e comment that "it looked like all the other palaces we've seen"- which is totally true- but how cool/bratty is it that it's a statement I have the authority to say? "Oh, you know. It was cool, but once you've seen ones lace, you've really seen them all".
The hall of mirrors was the highlight of the indoor portion- we had studied it in class, and it was cool to be there in person. It has so much history, and for whatever reason I dig the French revolution.
The main attraction, however, is the huge garden and outdoor area. There's a canal you can row boats in, and the whole thing is so big that they also have golf carts and bike rentals. We opted for bikes, since you had to be 24 to rent a golf cart (another luxury I was used to relying on Doug for. I don't remember the last time it crossed my mind that I wasn't old enough).
It was SO beautiful. The weather was perfect, and biking worked some muscles that hadn't been doing as much work with all the walking, as well as giving some of the blisters a break. We got to see this little town Marie Antoinette made- a little creepy, but still super pretty. It was basically a fake town she played pretend in to act like she was in the real world. Except it also had a petting zoo and fairy tale like cottages. Whatever makes you happy, I guess.
After our day in Versailles (I'm not going to do much more explaining, it's all about the pictures for this one. Unfortunately I don't have a bunch, since I was biking), we went to the Museo d'orsay for the impressionist art. I didn't stay long because my feet were all swollen again, so I nt back to the hotel and cleaned up and did everything to get ready for my free day.
I'm not sure what's going on with my feet. I don't want them to feel under appreciated; they're doing some tough work. But I don't feel like anyone else is having this much of a struggle. Everyone has a blister or two, but mine are legitimately making me gimpy and unable to walk, like the time I broke out in hives and couldn't go to school because my feet were too swollen to hold me up.
Hopefully by tomorrow they will be well rested, but if anyone has any suggestions for taking care of them- I'm open to anything. I've tried propping them up, bandaids, lotion, massage, and prayer. Snake oil is still a consideration.
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