Welcome to the next part of our trip to Europe!! Today we’ve got a fun day trip to Versailles and of course a lot more good food – let’s jump right in!
Day 4 – April 23, 2023
Here’s today’s vlog!
What I wore this day: Voodoo Vixen top / Grace Karin skirt / Rothys Square Flats / Wrangler jean jacket / PacSafe anti-theft bag
Today we were up bright and early to hop on the train to Versailles! It wasn’t too difficult to figure out the train system, but we did have to buy a special ticket for this one since we were taking the RER and not the metro:
After a pretty quick trip we hopped off and were on our way to Versailles! Unfortunately it was raining pretty bad, so Sarah and I bought some cheap umbrellas from a dude in the train station lol
The palace was a short walk away from the station and it was so pretty and grand as we approached!!
We decided to book a tour at Versailles so we could maximize the time had there. In hindsight, we were SO GLAD to have done this. We got access to exclusive spaces including the chapel and the theater, and the section of the palace we toured was basically empty. I think we had a much better time than we would have if we tried to just wander around ourselves.
Oh, and if you decide to book a tour, the entrance is on the right as you approach the gates, not up near the main entrance! Look for the sign that says Guided Tours.
Anyway we got all checked in and started our tour of Louis XVI’s apartment. Everything was so luxe and expensive-looking, it was pretty wild. Everything was all velvet wallpaper and gold plated chandeliers and just the height of ridiculously fancy interior design.
They even had a room that was specifically for Marie Antoinette’s dogs. Wild!!!!
Loved this cool clock:
Our awesome tour guide!
This desk took NINE YEARS to make. Talk about excessive. I love the carpet though.
I loved this music room, with walls decorated with instruments.
This is a royal potty:
I also am a sucker for fancy dishes – this is the first royal punch bowl:
Also loved this game room!
One of the places we got access to on the tour exclusively was the chapel, which was so beautiful!! Something I’m always amazed by in these historical buildings are the ceilings, and this one did not disappoint.
We also got to go into the theater which was SO beautiful!! Probably my favorite part of the tour. It was all made of wood and so gorgeous, AND it’s still used for performances. I would absolutely love to see a ballet in here!
Once the tour ended, we explored the palace a bit more on our own. Sarah got a fun collection of velvet wallpaper photos:
We also took a peek at the gardens:
More fancy ceilings:
And of course a walk through the Hall of Mirrors.
Again, I cannot overstate how much more crowded it was in the non-tour portion of the palace. It was soooo worth it to us to have that more private experience and not just be shoulder-to-shoulder with hundreds of other tourists the whole time. And the tour was only like €10 so it was totally worth it!
After we had our fill of Versailles we went over to the restaurant they have on site called Angelina. This is a really famous cafe that has another location near the Louvre, and I had wanted to try it anyway, so it was a perfect lunch choice for us.
We got the most delicious hot chocolate that you pour and add cream to yourself. So good and fun!
All our meals were great here too! I loved my ravioli with tons of crispy cheese on top.
And I took this photo of the bathroom sign because it made me laugh:
We finished up eating and snapped a few more pics of the outside of Versailles on our way out, and headed back to the train!
We took the train home and had a little nap. When I woke up, we heard some chanting outside our window and saw there were some people having a pride parade right outside??? Love it. No clue what they were chanting for but pretty sure I agree with them.
While we napped Brandon and Andy popped over to a little vegan pastry shop and brought back some goodies for all of us. I swear we did more on this trip than eat.
Our evening plans were kinda all over the place – just a few things we wanted to fit in so we did them all here! First, I really REALLY wanted to go see something we didn’t get to on my first trip…
the Moulin Rouge! Moulin Rouge is my favorite movie and even though we didn’t have time to see a show there this trip, I still wanted to go see it and take some photos. Next trip to Paris I will definitely get in there for the full experience!
Next stop was something else we didn’t get to do last time, but for different reasons…we were headed to the top of Arc de Triomphe!
Last time we were there we actually had tickets for this, but it was closed due to protests so we didn’t get to go. This time, it was on our Paris Museum Pass so we decided to give it a shot again and we were successful!
We took the long walk to the top (no clue how many steps it was… had to be over 100) and were rewarded with some stunning views of the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame and the rest of the city.
Here’s my hot take on traveling to places with tall buildings: it’s almost never worth it to go to the top of the “icon” of the city. Here’s what I mean: we could have gone to the top of the Eiffel Tower. But it’s way busier and more expensive. Instead, the Arc de Triomphe is cheaper (in our case, already included in our pass so it’s “free”), was way less crowded, gets you the same views, AND the Eiffel Tower can be in your photos! I personally would way rather have the icon of the city in my photo rather than take my photos from it. And another pro tip: if you ever come to Seattle, instead of going to the top of the Space Needle (expensive! crowded! more scary!) go to the Sky View Observatory (cheaper! less busy! more spacious for people afraid of heights!) to get Space Needle photos and imo even better views!
Anyway. After our full photoshoot on top of the Arc, we popped back down and explored Champs-Élysées a little bit. We had to stop for some macarons at Laduree:
Then it started pouring down rain so we decided to head to our dinner destination. Tonight we were dining at Le Potager du Marais, an all-vegan restaurant.
I had a “beef” bourguignon that was actually seitan which was super yummy!
After our long day we finally headed home to enjoy our macarons and collapse into our comfy beds. Another successful day!!
I hope you enjoyed this post and be sure to check out the vlog as well – I’m having so much fun doing these and recapping everything so hopefully you are too 🙂
see you next time for a very special day (hint: it’s my birthday) in Paris!!!!!
xo, Kaela
