Snow on Monday

Versailles Video

Trip to Versailles

We took the RER train but Versailles is a popular destination for buses.

This is just part of the palace. There is a church nesteled in there too.

The golden entry gate.

Ornate rooms. Many many many rooms.

Amazing grounds.

It's hard to realize how big everything is until you are there.

This is somebody's idea of art. There were these modern art(?) displays all over the inside of the castle. It was weird.

views of the river from the train ride home.

The RER train is not pretty but it is a very smooth ride and an efficient way to get outside of Paris.

I bought some reading material for the airport. Air France pilots are on strike so we're not so sure about getting home. My French reading level isn't very high yet.

promenade plantée

We didn't go swimming today but we saw this pool on our walk. The pool has an underwater camera alarm system that alerts the lifguards if someone is on the bottom for longer than 10 seconds. They can see on a TV screen exactly where the person is. Very high tech. It's called Poseidon

We walked along the Promenade Plantée. The promenade plantée is a 4.5 km-long elevated park in the 12th arrondissement of Paris.

It was constructed on an abandoned 19th-century railway viaduct, which connected the Bastille area to the eastern suburbs of Paris. The path splits the building ahead in half.

We could see the traffic below from the promenade. I like the bike markings.

The "Place de la Bastille" no longer has the Bastille prison but they still celebrate here on Bastille day which is similar to our July 4th celebration.

There are some really good chocolate shops near by. We got some real orange slices dipped in chocolate. They were very good.

More chocolate.

In the evening we went back to the Louvre and checked out some of the Egyptian collections.

There were rooms and rooms of vases. So many different kinds and sizes.

This is a large painting that is directly opposite of the Mona Lisa. It takes up the whole wall and in the corner is a cat! Many of the paintings have cats lurking somewhere in the background.

Velibs! Chateau de Vincennes, Velodrome, Bois de Vincennes

You have to have a French issued credit card to use the Velibs in Paris. Luckily our friend Mary set us up for the day. If you exchange bikes every half hour they are free. There are stations all over Paris. It is the coolest thing ever.

We are riding in the Bois de Vincennes. It was beautiful and no rain.

We got to the velodrome but they wouldn't let us take the Velibs out so we had to watch. I wanted to ride it so bad!

The banking is actually pretty steep in the corners although it looks shallow here.

Nice helmet.

There were several lakes in the Bois. We rode the paths around them.

We stopped off at the Chateau. This was built before the city of Paris. You are looking at the moat.

This church is also Notre Dame. It was built before the Notre Dame in the Cite.

I love the French sandwiches. You get a whole baguette!

Mary and Mark heading across the drawbridge.

Me and Mary Velib'ing it.

Mary accelerated out of the saddle to power past me. She is a Velib expert.

This car is actually parked at the curb. Not all cars can fit in this spot.

Velibs in motion. The shifting is kind of tricky though, if you shift wrong your feet may come off the pedals suddenly. :)

There was a large group of musicians playing in the subway when we went back to our apartment.

Here is a video of the velodrome. You can see me on the sidelines wishing I could do a couple of laps.