Paris - Day Six

Welcome to Thinking Out Loud Thursday!  Today I'm thinking about our last full day in Paris.  If you've missed any of the other days, you can see them by clicking on the day below.

Day 1     |     Day 2     |     Day 3     |      Day 4     |     Day 5

We had big plans for Day 6 of our Paris trip and were slightly disappointed when we woke to rain.  Lots of rain.  But the forecast promised sunny skies by mid afternoon so we put all our trust in Mr. Weatherman and hoped he didn't let us down. 

Our plan was to go to the Palace of Versailles first thing and we weren't going to let a little rain stop us.  We had studied the Metro maps the day before and felt confident we could make the 10 mile journey out of town using the train system.  The Metro would take us to a stop near the RER, we would hop on the RER and finish the trek to the Palace.  It worked like a charm!  If you do this, just be aware that you will have to purchase a separate ticket for the RER.   Metro tickets can not be used for that portion of the trip.

The Palace of Versailles will accept the Museum Pass, but they do not have a handy line to bypass the crowd.  So stand in the long, long, long line we stood, in the pouring rain, trying to make the best of things.  People watching was interesting and it passed the hour and a half wait as we slowly inched our way to the entrance.

Once inside we tried to shake off the dampness and enjoying seeing this magnificent palace.  Gold was everywhere and again I was fascinated by the ornate ceilings.

We peeked at the gardens through the windows, but didn't feel like venturing around in them because of the rain.  Next time.

The famous Hall of Mirrors was a treat to see.  We found one mirror that was clear enough to get a picture of our reflections.  

Having high tea in Paris was on my bucket list and Eric spotted an Angelina's that would the perfect spot to check that off the list.  It was wonderful to sit down and enjoy a leisurely meal after a morning full of rain and crowds.

Hot chocolate in Paris is like none I've tasted before.  It's much more like chocolate soup and we managed to have a cup every day we were in Paris.  

After enjoying Angelina's, back on the train we went.  We didn't spend as long at Versailles as we thought we would have due to the weather, so we decided to head back to Notre Dame to take it in one more time.  By this time, we had mastered the train and easily maneuvered our way there.  

Thank heavens by the time we made it back into the city the clouds were breaking up and the sun was beginning to peek through.  Top on my list of things to do while we were in Paris was to have a picnic under the Eiffel Tower.  I was going to be more than a little disappointed if that didn't get to happen; however, if it had continued to rain I would have probably just begged Eric to do it anyway.  Luckily it didn't come to that!

One of the best times we had was shopping for our little picnic in the park under the Eiffel Tower.  We shopped at a wine store, cheese shop, bakery for bread, another bakery for macaroons.  It almost felt like we were true Parisians!

After all the shopping to gather our picnic items, we headed to the Eiffel Tower.  Finding a spot wasn't hard, but taking the perfect picture of us was!  It might not be the perfect picture, but every time I look at it, it makes me smile remembering what a special time we had.

When our food was eaten and the wine was drunk, we packed up our blanket and walked to the river.  We were going on a sunset river cruise at 9:00 pm to cap off our stay in Paris.  The boat ride along the river gave us some very unique angles of the buildings and bridges we had been looking at from the streets all week.

Just as we were pulling back into shore, the clock struck 10:00 pm and the twinkling lights went off on the Eiffel Tower.  It was truly a magical moment.

Our walk back to the hotel was so melancholy.  We had both loved this vacation so much and hated to see it come to an end.  In the morning we would be headed to the airport to fly home.  Even though Paris is miles away from where we live, a piece of it will always be with us in our hearts.  Bon jour!

What's on your mind today?  Link up and share what you're thinking out loud about.

An InLinkz Link-up

Enjoy more Thoughts for Thursday at:

Home of Malones

East Coast Chic

Thursday Favorite Things Blog Hop

This is How We Roll
Moonlight and Mason Jars Linkup Party