Nearly everyone was down in the cafeteria ready for breakfast right at 8:30 because we had been told we were going to receive a hearty, American-style breakfast. However, the food wasn't ready until 8:50, and all it was was some potatoes (which were amazing), eggs, and "bacon" (which was actually the thickness of like 3-4 pieces of bacon, so I avoided it). On top of all that, the priests drank all the hot milk, so I had to make my hot chocolate with water. Lame.
Bernie, the art professor, was supposed to start his presentation on Versailles for us (since the school is too cheap to get us a tour guide) at 9:30, but that didn't actually begin until 10. It was a pretty good and interesting presentation, though, so I can't really complain. Finally, at 11 or so, we made our way out to catch the metro and RER train.
It was a pretty quick trip out to Versailles, and getting into the chateau was easy enough as well. Our art cards (can't remember if I've explained this--it's basically an ID that lies and says we're all Art & Architecture students. It is THE greatest thing ever) let us get in for free, so that was nice. First, we walked around the palace, listening to what the free audio guide had to say about all the rooms. I didn't learn anything new since my last visit, but it was still really cool to see it all again.
Later, we naturally made our way out to the gardens and ate the snacks we had brought for lunch. Katie, Gina, and I, who had all seen the gardens at this point, decided to head out to the other little palaces on the grounds.
We came across a little lake/big pond with a bunch of swans and ducks. I adore both swans and ducks, especially swans, so I was freaking out. I had about half a baguette left over, so I decided to throw a piece to the swans just to get them to come closer so I could take a picture. Somehow, though, which will forever boggle my mind, I managed to let the entire half-baguette fall out of its wrapping and watched it bounce into the water. Of course, the swans went totally nuts over it, so that made it worth it. After, I threw my apple core in and watched them attempt to peck at that. The ducks kept trying to go for it, but the swans wanted them to stay away. At one point, a lady with a dog walked by, and the dominant male swan swam up quickly and hissed at the dog. It was terrifying, but maybe the coolest thing I've ever seen. Long story short, I am obsessed with swans.
Eventually, we visited both the Grand Trianon and the Petit Trianon. The Grand Trianon was very pretty, but the Petit Trianon was weird. Or rather, it was set up weird for visitors. I don't really know.
We then headed over to Marie-Antoinette's little Disney-esque "peasant village," called the Petite Hameau. It was so cute! But so obnoxious.
We needed to head out as the complex would be closing soon, but happened upon a large field of sheep. Obviously, we stood and watched the sheep for a weirdly long time before finally heading out.
The most perfect dandelion ever (and me making a creepy face)
We were pretty exhausted, and also pretty cold. We took the train back to Paris, but stopped at the Christmas market for hot wine before walking the rest of the way back to campus.
For dinner, we decided to make our own cheese spread. We went to the grocery store and got four kinds of cheese as well as some crackers and pretzels. It was probably our greatest idea yet. I love cheese so much!
Can you guess what movie we watched tonight? Hint: it was filmed at Versailles............yes, we watched Marie-Antoinette! It was actually really cool to watch after visiting the chateau earlier in the day. It's a weird movie, but it's definitely entertaining. The only other time I'd seen it was when I was only 12 or so, so it made much more sense to me this time.
It was a long-ish movie, so after that we showered and went to bed. Definitely a great day, though!
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