Days of luxury!

Versailles

The largest palace in the world. A-maz-ing! Our group went there four days ago for an afternoon in the presence of royalty-past. Walking up to the golden gates in the chilly October sunshine caught my breath. I thought to myself, "This whole place is just one palace? It looks like three!" The kings who lived here could house 3000 nobleman with them inside, talk about keeping an eye on their court! All those people would party it up from dawn until dusk in the 17th century. My mouth was dropping upon entering each sumptuous, painted room. And there was room upon room upon room for our pleasurable touring. We sighed and gasped with each new gilded chandelier, high painted ceiling, and mirror (especially the famous Hall of Mirrors!).And after seeing the gilded interior, Megan and I explored the extensive grounds, with mazes and lakes, statues, fountains and trees. The only thing that stopped us was the setting sun. What a wonderful, green place to wander about without crowds (which was not the case inside).

Louvre

Huuuuuge. Overwhelming. Breath-taking. Crowd-pushing. Defining moments- seeing the Mona Lisa and Winged Victory! I took so many photos, as every art-work seemed to have a detail that caught my eye, and thankfully pictures (w/o flash) are allowed! I have a year's pass, so I am going to return as much as possible and spend more time in the extensive galleries. Definitely the most impressive museum yet (although the Tate in Britain was very grandiose as well!)

(The Mona Lisa)

Fray Concert

Megan, Aubrey and I went to a secret concert in a tiny little cafe/bar basement at the International. Stood 10 feet away from the band, which regularly would cost over $200, but it was FREE to us! They only posted the location on their myspace blog, and being in Paris, the response was smaller than it would have been in America! Well worth the cold hours waiting outside to be privy to such musical brilliance! I am still singing "You found me" even now!

Chocolate Festival

Four full hours of filling my mouth with sweet cocoa goodness. Life could hardly get better. Saw brazilian dancers and a fashion show of chocolate clothed models. Soooo cool! I had all kinds of chocolate that I've never even heard of before! Pepper, lavender, thyme, orange, lemon, pistachio, flower, cinnamon, coffee, vanilla, chanvre, ginger, wasabi, cheese, green tea, coconut, strawberry, almond, cherry, wine and so many more. It was crunchy, chewy, stringy, sticky and super yummy! The annual convention is to raise awareness for Parisian/French chocolateries and they sell the chocolate to you after charming you with a "taste." Of course, as I had no money the only thing I came away with was a stomach full of samplings. The fashion show was quite the event as well!

(Chocolate clothing~)