Paris 3

Versailles is just crazy. I've never seen anything so ridiculously ornate and overblown. The repeated symmetry of the décor was really visually pleasing, and added to the sense of surrealness around the Palace. We spent a long while wandering; or more accurately getting swept along in the crowd of tourists- it was so busy! The hall of mirrors is as impressive as the reviews say, and there was a voyeuristic pleasure of walking through Marie Antoinette's bedroom, complete with hidden doorways. We had a chilly picnic and walk in the gardens (well, in about 5% of the gardens) before heading back in to Paris for a date with another ice cream. We took a blustery boat trip along the Seine, then had a wonderful evening wandering past all the bars and cafes in the Latin Quarter, not to mention a delicious dinner in a falafel bar. The day was rounded off at 10pm when I finally got to see the Eiffel Tower sparkle for it's full five minutes; I have always managed to miss it on previous trips.