We Visited Louis XIV ...

At the end of May, Brad & I took a trip to Paris without the little man. I had been looking forward to this trip for a L-O-N-G time & we couldn't have done the trip solo without help from The Miners. They took Kason for us for the majority of the time we were gone. It was heavenly to get some alone time with Brad on a trip, although, half the time I didn't know how to enjoy all the sights without a six-year old hanging out with us! 

We took the train out to Paris on a Saturday & once we got there it was the boring basics: find the apartment, find a market for some food, etc. etc. Before we went to Paris I had heard so many people say that Parisians were stuck-up and kinda rude towards Americans so, I wasn't sure what to expect but, between the time we got off the train and the time we found the apartment, we had four locals offer help & directions! The Parisians definitely redeemed themselves against my preconceived perceptions! 

Sunday morning we woke up to head out to Versailles. It was supposed to be a quick 30 minute train ride out there but, due to a train line being shut down, and lack of communication between the France train employees, it ended up taking us THREE confusing hours to get there! While we were trying to figure out how to get there, we ran into another group of Americans who were clearly lost and we offered to let them follow us out to Versailles. It was in this group that Brad gained "a groupie", aka: a crush. The whole situation was so classic and humorous, I can't pass up a chance to record it for posterity. She definitely wasn't very shy about crushing on my HUSBAND nor was she timid about flirting ... and I just laughed and honestly, was kinda flattered (who cares if she was 21 or so!). Any chance she had she would walk right next to Brad, touching his shoulder and telling him some impressive fact about herself. Case in Point: after claiming to be a "photographer", she said how much she loved our camera and then took a picture for us. The comical side of the story is the fact that the picture was pretty much us, lots of tour buses and a corner of Versailles. Some photographer! ;)
(I ended up having to delete the picture because I had to format my card after it had been taken...rats!) We ran into her a few other times while we were at Versailles and she ogled her eyes at Brad, looked him up and down, flashed him a flirty smile & then would walk on.
Ah, I don't want to forget the humor of those moments.
Okay ... enough about the poor girl, I'm starting to feel mean ... moving on now ... 

Versailles was BEAUTIFUL. Louis the fourteenth lived here and everything is plated in gold.
So. Much. Gold.
I guess he wanted to prove his wealth & I think he proved it quite well.

If you ever visit Versailles - BUY YOUR TICKETS IN ADVANCE!!! It will save you so much
time ... Rick Steve's recommended it, and we chose not to listen. (whoops...sorry Ricky!)

Inside the Palace he had Billiard Rooms, Music Rooms, Ballrooms, Game Rooms & what seemed like 15 different bedrooms. Apparently Louis was quite the ladies man ... maybe he let them all hang out at his massive house? The only room that I cared to document was the 'Hall of Mirrors' ... that's us in the mirrors. Promise it's us! 

Brad walked down this hall in awe, thinking about all the kings and dignitaries that walked this exact hall.

The gardens at Versailles were amazing. Brad and I had fun walking around, pretending we were guests of Louis XIV at a fancy dinner party. It would have been neat to be alive during that era. 

This stretch of garden behind us went for 1500 meters ... the water was called the Grand Canal of Versailles.

I loved these trees, someday, I'll let Brad prune some trees like this in our dream yard. ;) 

And a picture of my husband, just because he's pretty great. Oh, and look how TALL those trees are! They've been growing for a really long time. Do you think the royals walked through the orchards with the lady they were courting? They do it in the movies ... 

Brad kissed me romantically, a time or two while we were meandering through the gardens. I totally would have let him court me back in the day.

We wanted to be around the fountains when the water shows started. I was expecting some crazy fountains like the Bellagio but ... you need to lower your expectations of the Versailles water show. It was pretty much just water fountains being turned on. Nothing fancy. I was slightly disappointed. Because of that, we didn't stay long. 

(I spy Brad sitting on the side of the fountain ... left side of the picture, inside the arch of the water. Hi Brad!!!) 

After we grabbed an ice cream cone & finished our tour of the gardens we headed back to the train station. On our way, we passed this adorable antique shop. I love the antique shops over here, they are filled with beautiful treasures ... I only wish I could know the story behind each piece! I told Brad he should be grateful we didn't drive to France, or I would have been loading our car up with some of those treasures! 

Like this piano ... I would LOVE to have an antique piano like this!! It was kinda fun to play a little tune on this while we were there.

Once we got back into Paris we headed towards the Arc de Triomphe.

We wanted to go up to the top but, while we were there they were having some sort of Military ceremony. We were there Memorial Day weekend so, I am assuming that all tied together somehow. It made me pretty proud to be an American and see our flag flying in France. Living somewhere other than America sure makes me a proud American and has made me appreciate that flag, and the things it represents, so much more than before. Plus, having a husband who defends that flag probably helps a little, too! (Go 'Merica!)

Arc de Triomphe is at the end of Champs-Elysees (the ever famous shopping street of Paris) so, we walked down the street and my amazing husband let me go into this store and let me pick out whatever I wanted!!!

Okay, just kidding. And if there hadn't been a LINE just to go into Louis Vuitton, I probably would have dragged Brad in there, just to say I had stepped foot in that store. Instead, Brad let me do a little non-Louis shopping on Champs-Elysees. He's good to me. 

By this point I think we were both so exhausted we just wanted to go to sleep but, we needed food. So, we wandered up towards the Hard Rock hoping to get a table without too much of a wait. The wait ended up being longer than we wanted to deal with so we ate at Chipotle. Um, Chipotle in France is NOT as yummy as Chipotle in America. Blech. It did not taste like I was hoping!! But, we did get to see the Opera house. That kinda made up for a gross dinner ... kinda. 

After that we headed back towards the apartment and decided to go sit outside at one of the cute Paris cafes and have some hot chocolate. Two things: the hot chocolate in Paris is the most delicious hot chocolate I have ever (ever!) had in my life & this little date to the cafe was probably one of the funnest, most romantic dates Brad ANYONE has ever taken me on. It was perfection. 

Anyone who is in love really should take the opportunity to share Paris with the one they love, you fall in love all over again. I love, love, LOVE Paris.