Versailles and the Bottle-Nosed Dolphin

Okay, just to catch you up, I better do a quick recap of my weekend:

My hostel was in the ghetto so I stayed on the town a ton. On Friday I saw Ile de la Cite and Sainte Chapel, Pont Neuf then walked to Louvre (which goes on for 3 city blocks) and saw Mona Lisa and everything then walked through Jardin des Tuilieries and up the Champs Elysees to the Arc de Triomphe. I did a little shopping on the Champs and I climbed the 280-some stairs to the top of the Arc to get a view of the city. From there I went to the Eiffel Tower and Marine Museum, then went home, then went to a fancy-pants dinner where I had lamb chops and a vinaigrette salad with chicken and potatoes, and dark chocolate mousse for dessert, all with 2 glasses of wine for €20. Saturday I saw Notre Dame, Musee d’Orsay, walked along Rive Gauche, had breakfast of tea, orange juice, fresh bread w/butter and croissant w/fresh marmalade on Ile de la Cite. Then I went to Musee de l’Homme, Hotel des Invalides, had a picnic lunch and then Montematre and Sacre Cour (I climbed the steps, btw, and didn’t take the funicular). That night I had another fancy-pants meal of duck confit and a glass of red near the Champ du Mars, then walked to the Champ du Mars to sit and watch the sun set on the Eiffel Tower with a vanilla “glace” (ice cream). The sun set and eventually the twinkly lights came on and I walked all around the Eiffel tower then went home. Sunday I visited Versailles and saw everything—the public rooms, a guided tour of the private rooms, and 5 hours in the gardens. Did I not have the most productive weekend?

Now, to tell you about Versailles.

I had just left 3 hours of touring the interior when I made my way to the gardens of Versailles, around the back of the palace. The gardens were once 800 hectares, but were reduced to 80 hectares. To give you some perspective on how big 800 hectares is, the land that was sold was made into NINE TOWNS.

So I hardly think I was ready for how big the gardens would be, and as the sun came out of the clouds and began to radiate 80-degree heat down on the throngs of people, including myself, I knew I’d have to pace myself if I was to see it all.

So I began my leisurely stroll through the gardens, walking through hedge mazes and down gravel paths. I walked down to La Bassin d’Apollon, or Apollo’s Fountain, and sat down to dip my feet in the giant fountain and cool off. As I sat crowd watching and taking in the sun in the still fountain, a booming French woman’s voice came over the loud speakers. “Ladies and gentleman, you will now enjoy the music of Louis XIV with the fountains of Versailles.” No sooner had she commanded us to “enjoy the music” than a regalia fanfare muscled forth from giant speakers hidden in the hedges all around us, and suddenly the fountain was erupting in a spray of water. The fountain’s column of water soared to maybe 25 or 30 feet in the air; it made for a little mist which was nice on my quickly burning face, so I stayed put.

I smiled a little to be sitting in front of such a nice fountain, and I splashed my feet a little because the water was so nice and cool. The fanfare trumpets regaled my little splashes. It was so pleasant….but suddenly, a gust of wind hit the fountain’s columns of water and sent them shooting at an angle from the fountain. Guess what angle it sent them?

I looked like a bottle-nosed dolphin had swam up next to me and done a flipper kick. As the water hit, little kids all around the fountain shrieked and ran over to see if they could get lucky and get splashed too. I was dripping with fountain water, which had quickly gone from refreshing to embarrassing. I pulled my feet up, stuck them in my sandals and marched away, dripping on the gravel as I went.

But truly Versailles is gorgeous. I didn’t stop moving the entire time I was in the gardens and was in them five hours, and I bet I walked about 7 miles. It really was cool to walk around all the fountains while they were on and with the 18th century French operettas were playing. There are about 40 fountains in all, not including the Grand Canal, which is classified as a fountain but is really its own lake:

That’s one corner of it. Yeah.

Versailles was my absolute favourite part of my trip and my favourite excursion in a long time. If you go, DEFINITELY go on a Sunday to catch the fountains in action, or else go on a night when they’re doing la musique d’eau, which are night viewings where the fountains are on, little twinkly lights are lit in the gardens and you can tour the inside of Versailles which is lit only by candlelight. I cannot even imagine how amazing this must be.

Check out Versaille's gardens website which shows pictures of the fountains and the night shows.

On the OTHER big note, no news yet on the visa—we’ll see though! I’ll update the post if I hear anything today…

**UPDATE**

I had planned to visit the US Embassy on the 4th to see if they were having any celebrations, but apparently the celebrations were so Amercan-ly prompt, they were actually 3 days early. Only an American would move a NATIONAL HOLIDAY to suit our schedule. Also, check out how many "close friends" the ambassador has. Who is he, J Lo?

Embassy Dublin Celebrates U.S. Independence: Ambassador's
Residence: June 30, 2007.

Embassy Dublin celebrated U.S. Independence Day a little early this year with a blow out party at the residence of the U.S. Ambassador to the United States, Thomas C. Foley. Attended by over a thousand of the Embassies closest friends and contacts, the party was capped by a spectacular display of fireworks over the lawn of the residence.