Versailles Day Trip | Day 23
Started the day off with pastries and McDonald’s… what? Yes… McDonald’s coffee. We went to the bakery across the street and I got pan raisin and an apricot pastry and then to the McDonald’s next door for cheap coffee. Then we did the Historic Paris walk from the Notre Dame around the south bank of the Seine and back up to Sainte-Chapelle.
Then we caught a train to Versailles. It was such a fun afternoon! First we got to skip the 2 hour line and go straight in, thank you Paris Museum Pass. :) The Museum Pass is absolutely perfect for me since I’m extremely cheap and extremely impatient! So first we toured the whole palace and then walked out to the gardens. It was 6 euros to get in to the gardens, but so worth it because of the fountains and classical music that played for 2 ½ hours. We ate lunch on the grass and then walked around to all the fountains. Then I got ice cream which I managed to finish while waiting in line for the bathroom (it was a 30 min. wait!) At 5:00 the fountains and music stopped so we rented bikes for an hour and biked all the way around the lake and gardens! It was soooo much fun, and an awesome breeze on such a hot day. The bikes had these cool bells too, so you can ring as a passed people. After we took the bikes back we walked back to the train station and headed back to Paris.
We got off at the Montmartre stop and went to dinner at this little restaurant L’Ete en Pente Douce, below the Sacre-Coeur on the hill. One of my favorite meals of the trip! I had tofu lasagna and it was awesome. Then we finished walking up the hill and went in to the Sacre-Coeur. We made it in just before they closed the gates, so we got to walk around and then we watched street performers at outside before walking back down to the Metro.
Bastille Day in Paris!
So I woke up way to early, showered, added a few things from the fridge to the “give-away” pile and then headed to St. Charles station. My pack is mysteriously heavier than on the way over. I can’t figure it out. All I have extra is 1 bottle of wine and 2 tank tops AND I think I actually used a few things… oh well. :( So I napped and did Sudoku puzzles on the way to Paris.
We got a 10 trip metro pass and then headed to our hotel. It’s way out on the east side, but it’s really nice so I’m sure we’ll survive. So after that we headed to the Louvre. We bought the 4 day Paris Museum Pass on the way there for 45 euros. It lets you skip the ticket line at most museums. So we walked right in to the Louvre instead of standing in line! We ended up splitting up which was really good because I have more fun at museums just wandering instead of trying to keep track of where the group is. :) So I spent most of my time in the paintings section. And of course I saw the Mona Lisa, but didn’t wait in line because you could see it on either side of the line!
After the Louvre we headed to the Rue Cler area to eat before we met up with everyone at Chris’ hotel around 9. I stopped at a gelato stand after. :) Then we headed to the Eiffel Tower and it was much to late to stake out a great spot so we ended up waaaaay back, but I think any spot was still a good view. So we used our maps as seats and waited for the show. I must say that fireworks at the Eiffel Tower were better than any Independence Day celebration I have ever seen! They play classical songs during the fireworks. It most certainly beat our cheesy rock montage in the US. After the fireworks we swam through the masses to the metro and headed “home.”
Winery Tour & the Calanques
Best day ever! So after taking a short tour of CMA/CGM (the shipping company) we headed to the winery. First we took a tour of the olive oil process part, then the wine process and then went in for some wine tasting. The white wine was my favorite, red was not so great… Then we went in for lunch. It was really good. Jean-Marc, the winery guy, did a how-to thing which was really funny. Apparently you’re supposed to breathe out of your nose to get the full effect; yeah I’m pretty sure that was Step 3. Anyway, we had a great time! I think my favorite part was when Jean-Marc stood up and said “And now it’s time for the cheeeeeeeese!” lol
When we got back to Marseille, we left for the Calanques. Yeah, I know hiking doesn’t usually follow a winery tour, but it was super fun! We took the #21 back up to school and it only took about 45 min to get down the trail, and it wasn’t super hot since it was around 5-6pm. What an amazing view! Geeeeez… I’m so glad I got to go. So we went swimming and then sat on the rocks watching some boats and these guys diving off the rocks.
Bull Games in Arles | Day 20
Yay, every day should be a ½ day of class! We get so much more accomplished! After we went on the bus tour to the port we had lunch and then went back to the Citadines before heading to the train station around 3. We got to Arles about 30 min. early. The bull fight or “games” was soooo cool. I loved it! Nicole and I each picked “our guy” and mine didn’t get hurt, so HAAA! lol. Hers kind of got trampled. Anyway, it was tons of fun to watch.
We went to this little restaurant after and it was my favorite meal so far. I got the vegetarian menu which is a 3 course thing, so I got this goat cheese/zucchini/sun-dried tomato thing which I ate with bread and then they eggplant, cheese, tomato dish came and it was just ok, but then the dessert was also awesome! So I had tons of fun today! The ride home was another story. Everybody got earlier trains and we were on the last one, which happened to be 35 min. late, argh! So we ended up walking back from the St. Charles station, through the ghetto part of Marseille, but it was totally fine. And then we get back and Chris told us that he got mugged by the Vieux Port, some kids surrounded him and stole his camera out of the backpack. I guess they took a taxi after that, yikes.
Thai Food & Carousels in Marseilles | Day 19
So this evening we went to this Thai place near the port. The food was good, but the company was a little off. ;) Someone invited like 5 of the North Carolina guys to go and so it was kind of awkward, they made us all feel really old. It’s strange what a huge gap 20 – 25 can be. The food was really great though, it was nice to have something different. The frat boys left right after, so thankfully we didn’t have to hang out with them. ;)
On the way home we stopped at the carousel and Chris made everyone ride, except for Troy who was a big baby and sat on the bench and watched us in our grand maturity. Jennette and I rode on the tea cup one that spins and you can also turn the wheel and make it go faster… we were a little out of control… wow… yeah, I had a hard time sleeping because of that.
The Odd Park in Marseilles | Day 18
We had to be at class 30 min. early this am, but thankfully we got a 2 hour lunch. I could really get used to that! We walked down to the restaurant by the pool (on-campus) and I had an awesome salad. It was huge! So we found this GIGANTIC park just down the Prado this evening! I had a healthy dinner of cheese sticks and Coca-Cola and then we wandered around and sat and watched this poor pigeon who only had 1 leg… he had to navigate by making circles, and then we saw these weird ducks and a peacock and roosters and this one crazed rooster was in the tree… very Monty Python-ish, and I even saw a turtle! Craziness! So there’s also a golf course (Par 3 course), and I want to go, but I don’t think there will be time before we leave.
A Day in Nice & Back to Marseilles for the World Cup Final
So we went to this little café for breakfast in one of the [many] little squares in Nice. I got a crepe and coffee. Then we walked through the huge market area that we pretty much missed yesterday, and then did a tiny bit of shopping. I finally found some sunglasses and also bought a beach mat for 2.50. Then we headed to the beach. The beach was really rocky, but smooth rocks so it was just fine with a beach mat. I only got in the water once, and just laid out the rest of the time doing my sudoku puzzle, lol. So Hannah, Jennette and I were all laying around doing puzzles, and now we’re all sunburned. ;) So after several hours at the beach we grabbed some lunch (yay panini) and walked to the train station.
By the time we got back to Marseille everyone had already left to watch the game at the port. So we were a little late. The game was rather sad. Of course we wanted France to win! After the game it didn’t get crazy like last time, but the police were out in full force just in case.
Living It Up in Nice & Monaco | Day 16
So we left for Nice at 8:30 this am. I bought a Sudoku puzzle at the St. Charles station while we waited so I had something to do on the way there! :) We got to Nice, checked in, wandered around the produce market in the Old Town that was just about to shut down. We ended up going to dinner at this Italian place and it was actually quite good. It started pouring rain just as we were finishing so we ordered coffee and then waited, and then ended up leaving in the rain! It was warm, so it wasn’t too bad.
Then we went to the train station to see when the latest train coming back from Monaco was and ended up leaving right then, so we had 2 ½ hours in Monaco! I’m really glad we went on Saturday night instead of Sunday during the day. We got to see everything all lit up and the disgustingly rich people, and some fakers. It was sooo interesting, a strange curiosity I guess. On one hand you’re like, ok that yacht is amazing and then on the other hand you’re like what the hell is wrong with these people! But yeah, we saw some amazing boats and cars. :) Good day.
Frioul Islands Instead of Chateau d’If | Day 15
We were going to go to the Calanques today since we got out of class at noon, but the trail was closed because of high wind. I was very sad. So almost everyone decided to go swimming at the Prado beach which I really didn’t find that great last time so I decided to go with Hannah & Travis to this museum they were talking about and to the Chateau d’If and then out to the Froiul islands to swim. The museum was fairly boring, and then the Chateau d’If boat that leaves from the port, was also closed because of high winds, so we decided to just take the boat out to the islands instead. Definitely worth 10€! The boat ride was really fun and it takes you right past the Chateau d’If, (which I’ve heard rumors of being rather dull).
So when we got to the island we walked and walked and walked until the little people train passed us and then we watched where it finally stopped up on this hill. So we walked all the way over there to this cool little beach. It wasn’t that crowded, so it was tons of fun. We took turns swimming and watching the stuff. The water was really salty so it’s way easier to float here, lol. It was also cool to not be with a huge pack of people like when we were in Cassis. So we walked all the way back to the boat in our “bathers” (what Andrew calls swimsuits), lol. And, yes, I was told for the second time since I’ve been here to put a shirt on. Geez, what’s with these people… I’m trying to hurry to catch a boat so I’m in my swimsuit and shorts and obviously carrying my tank top and the guys at the boat are like trying to tell me to put my shirt on. Duh! Like I won’t now that I’ve actually made it to the boat before it leaves. They’re like the naked country, but you better put a shirt on over that bikini if you’re going to get back on the boat… GEEEZ! ;) So when we got back a bunch of us went to dinner at this Italian place. It wasn’t that great… enough said.
Notre-Dame & The Vieux Port in Marseilles | Day 14
Class was sooooo boring this afternoon! After class I went to the Monoprix to find sunglasses, but was not successful. :( Then we went to the Notre-dame on the hill, which was cool, because I still hadn’t done that yet! Then we walked down by the port, watched the end of the world championship for Boules tournament, and eventually ended up going to this Indian restaurant. It was really good, but my meal didn’t come with rice, so I was still hungry.
Now I need to start some laundry. Uggh, the realities of “living” in Marseille.
Things I ♥: travel, food (I'm a pescatarian), the Pacific Northwest, bikes (I ride an orange mixte), beer (IPAs), summer, coffee, lists, and kittehs. Travel enthusiast, dabbler, and product manager at BootsnAll Travel Network.
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