Fit for a king

On the itinerary for today was the Château de Versailles. We made the hour long trip to Versailles to see the gorgeous palace. We only bought a ticket to see only the palace and not the gardens, but we plan to return later in our four months here to see it via renting a golf cart (yes you can do that!). The outside of the palace was extraordinary, especially the gold trimming on the buildings and intricate detailing in the stone. There were also many little statues of heads and people along the palace exterior.  

Inside, we ventured through all the rooms in the palace, including Marie Antoinette's bedroom and the Chapel of Versailles. All of the rooms had detailed murals on the ceilings and long floor-to-ceiling windows. 

Inside Marie Antoinette's chambers

Marie Antoinette's helicopter..?

After seeing everything inside the palace, we headed back outside to take a break on the steps and take a few more photos. 

So tiny compared to the massive palace

Next, we took the train back to central Paris and stopped for a bit to peruse at a mall, and then decided to practice our future daily walk to school. I think we've gotten a pretty solid route down, but I'm not too excited to walk 20 minutes to school everyday. The longest I've spent walking to school was 8 minutes from my apartment to campus in second year, so I'm definitely not going to be used to a walk that is double that amount. I know I shouldn't be complaining because most students at other universities usually have a 15-20 minute walk to school, but still... I'm lazy! 

For dinner we headed to a place called Buffalo Grill in the 17th arrondissement. It is an American saloon themed restaurant which gave us a little taste of home. It was different from all the French meals we've been having and gave me a break from the culture shock that I've been experiencing. Paris is amazing and all, but being thrust into a city where everything is in French and I barely understand anything, with buildings that are all old looking (but gorgeous), where meals involve 3 courses, and taxis are Mercedes and Audis (still blows my mind), it is a little confusing and at times I find myself missing the comfort of all the English at home and the people there. 

Typical assortment of baked goods at McDonald's

Coke in a glass bottle

Overall today was a pretty chill day compared to our other daily trips here, but there was still a ton of walking and I am completely exhausted!

I've noticed I've been using "gorgeous" and "amazing" way too much in my posts, but to be honest, I don't know what else to use. Everything I've seen in the past week has been exactly that.