Sunday, May 23
Today we have to leave Paris, but it's a bit of a logistical nightmare. First, we take the familiar RER to the Musee D'Orsay, or the Impressionist's Museum. We arrive looking for breakfast, but the cafe isn't open yet, so we move on to the adjoining galleries, and wind up touring the best part of the museum...Monet, Van Gogh, Renoir, Degas, etc. And it's not at all crowded yet, being early on a Sunday morning. Soon we adjourn for breakfast in the cafe, and then continue on. It doesn't take as long as the Louvre, and we're done in 2 hours.
We head back to the hotel, check out, and (once again) get on the RER, this time heading for Versailles. We're soon there, and now the logistics begin. While the others scout out lunch, I head for the other train station (Chantier), and arrange our tickets and times for the train to Chartres. We meet up again shortly, and head for the palace. We wait in line about 20 minutes, drop our packs off at the comical baggage checker, and start our tour.
It's a typical Versailles tour, complete with the hard-to-get-by Japanese tour groups. It's a spectacular palace, better than any in Eastern Colorado, but the Hall of Mirrors is under construction so we miss out on the most impressive sight. We finish our tour by wandering around the gardens for a while. It's a gorgeous day and there's music playing, fountains going off, and all-in-all a great visit.
On to the Chantier train station, where we wait for the next train to Chartres watching Mandy and Lauren spit cherry seeds halfway to the palace. Soon the train comes, and it's a nice train ride, getting out of the Paris environs and into the French countryside. We arrive in Chartres, and find our hotel, which isn't hard to find since it's one block from the train station. Tonight we're staying at the
Hotel Chatelet
, with very quiet rooms and, again, very friendly staff. Tonight we eat at La Pichet, and have another great French meal.
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