Paris – Part 2

After a long first day in Paris, we woke up still feeling tired but we had no time for laying in bed, we had another jam-packed day ahead of us.

We grabbed some croissants and pan au chocolates from the local bakery and headed on our way to the Palace of Versailles.

I’ve always wanted to visit the Palace but just didn’t have enough time on previous trips. We were blessed with a glorious sunny day which allowed us to enjoy the surroundings even more.

We arrived around 11am and as we entered the gates, I got out my camera to start taking pictures. I had a moment of sheer panic when attempting to turn my camera on and having no success. I was devastated at the thought of my brand new camera being broken but when I went to take the battery out and I found I’d only gone and left it in the battery charger back home. I don’t know if I’ve ever been more cross with myself. It was a beautiful day in beautiful surroundings and I could have gotten some amazing pictures but instead I had to make do with the camera on my phone and my friends pictures. Gutted doesn’t even cut it…

Anyway I wasn’t going to let my moment of foolishness ruin the day and we went to collect our tickets. It is worth noting, entry to the Palace of Versailles among other attractions in Paris including Le Louvre are free to those under the age of 26. To obtain your free entry all you need to do is show a form of ID at the entrance – simples.

Although a bit further out from the City, The Palace of Versailles is definitely worth a visit if you have enough time during your trip. You could spend hours going through all the different rooms and taking in the amazing artworks on display. I took a gazillion pictures but they don’t necessarily do justice, its better to experience it in person.

The gardens are extremely vast and pristine and would be a great place to enjoy a picnic in the summer months. They also have musical fountain shows in the gardens from April to October.

We were not able to spend all day at the Palace as we had other plans but I would definitely return on my next trip and and hopefully visit Marie-Antoinette’s estate.

From Versailles, we headed to a shopping centre nearby for a quick stop at Zara and for some much needed lunch.

We then headed back to Paris and home for a quick change before making our way to Le Bataclan to enjoy Paolo Nutini in concert. We arrived at the venue around 8pm and were surprised to find the place was already packed. We squeezed through to the far right hand side of the stage for a good view of the show.

I wasn’t sure what to expect from the French audience or how they would react but I was pleasantly surprised by how loud and well receiving they were. Of course, the atmosphere was not the same as in Glasgow but it was certainly far warmer than a London crowd. Paolo put on a fantastic show and was on great form.

Another great way to end to a lovely day in Paris.

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