Sunday night we flew back to Beijing from Shanghai and what a debarkle that was!!!. Our flight was delayed an hour already then we took off and landed in Beijing. We sat on the tarmac in Beijing for 2 hours before they let us off the plane due to torrential rain. It had caused a lot of flights to be cancelled so there was no terminal for us to dock.
Paris:
Beijing to Paris flight was delayed by 3 hours due to air traffic congestion. This made every flight in and around China delayed at some point during our trip. (No wonder there were no Chinese at check in when they opened it).
We landed in Paris late Monday night and caught the train to our hostel. Descent 4 dorm hostel on a terrace in Monmarte the northern part of Paris. Tuesday morning we got up early and did the tourist attractions such as the Eiffel Tower, Champs Elysee and the Arc de Tiumph. Only a 30min wait in line to get up the Eiffel Tower which has great views over the rest of Paris but there was a bit of haze lingering around. First meal in France was escargots (snails) The rest of the day was spent shopping until we went back for an afternoon nap. After getting the call from dad when I woke we headed up to the Sacre Couer Basilica. It was a spectacular building and the highest point overlooking Paris as well. I lit a candle for Pa so he could also enjoy the views. We walked the streets of Montmart looking for a restaurant, listening to accordions being played and watched a variety of sketchers and painters doing portraits of people. Later in the evening we headed back to the Eiffel tower viewing point with a few lads from the hostel to watch it being lit up on the hour.
Tuesday morning we headed to the Louvre, which was great but something you need to do over a couple of days due to the scale of the place. We got lost a few times but still managed to see the Mona Lisa and any other famous sculptures and paintings. After the Louvre we headed to the famous Notre Dame Cathedral where im sure I saw the hunchback swinging from the rafters in the roof. The architecture of the building was phenomenal with the gargoyles along its perimeter looking out. In the afternoon we headed to the Luxembourg Gardens, which were very relaxing. The Chateau was very grand and there were a lot of little kids sailing toy boats in the big fountain in the gardens.
Chateau Versailles:
This Chateau could possibly be the best part of my trip to date. El, myself and another girl from the hostel headed out there for the day. We got there in the morning and it was freezing, having only decided to wear singlet and shorts due to the previous days being very hot. The wind was up and the sun behind the clouds so we couldn’t wait to get into the Chateau to warm up.. We walked through the amazing rooms of the Chateaux which was organised in a one direction self guided tour which took the stress out of it all. Napoleans rooms and just the overall size of the place was nothing id every seen before. The best room was without a doubt the hall of mirrors and the gardens which were acres in size. By the time we got outside the weather had turned and it had started warming up again. There was a massive man made lake in the centre of the gardens so we did what you do when the weather is spectacular and you have water…. We hired a row boat for an hour. It was funny watching some people row because they had no concept of how to move the boat in a straight line. Don’t be surprised if you see me in a new Goulbourn Valley add soon after my technique improved out of side within the hour. The day was possibly so enjoyable because there was no rush, we took our time to see and do everything we wanted. The past week and a half had been so rushed you have to remind yourself you are in fact supposed to be on holidays. Friday we caught a train to Lyon to pick up Purdy the Peugeot 208.
