Paris - End of the Journey...almost!

Snapshot
Where - Paris

We finally made it back to Paris where we planned to only go to the Palace of Versailles and also the summit of the Eiffel Tower. As we have already been to Paris we have seen the major attractions such as the Louvre, the Arc de Triomphe, Notre Dame and Sacre Coeur and the Eiffel Tower (from the second level).

First, the Palace of Versailles. This place is opulence with a capital O! We visited here on a Saturday which is probably the busiest day and meant we had to queue. We enjoyed it so much that we queued twice because when we went through the first security gate we just joined the line but when we got to the head of the queue (after about an hour) we found out this was just for entering the palace - we were supposed to buy tickets from a side area which was not made obvious to us. Fortunately it was a nice day and we did not have anything else to do. It only took us another hour to queue up again and at least this time we chatted with another Australian family so the time went quickly. The palace is worthwhile seeing but I preferred the gardens.

We visited the Eiffel Tower on Tuesday after we dropped off our car. We ended up driving almost 15,300km - not bad for 2 months. Brad was glad to get it back in one piece. Things have changed around the Eiffel Tower since we were last here (5 years ago). Everybody could wander freely all around the base of the tower but now it is all fenced off and you have to pass through security to enter the area. Sign of the times I guess. Also, the Trocodero area had lovely fountains etc. but it was being redeveloped with what looked like a large stage area. Not quite sure what they have in mind. Anyway, the views from the summit were great and we got some nice photos.

We were staying in a small hotel quite close to the airport and apart from the visit to Versailles and the day spent at the Eiffel Tower we just relaxed and did nothing much except go for a couple of walks - packed and repacked our bags and got rid of all the unnecessary bits and pieces in an effort to lighten the load (we were dangerously close to exceeding our luggage allowance - you would think we would have it right by now)Read more