Trip to France - Day 4 - Versailes and Paris

We ate at McDonald's near the metro station every morning in Paris.  They had special French breakfasts (with yummy hot chocolate and little pastries) that was cheaper than the other options around. On our last full day in France, we loaded up on a big breakfast because we had a big day ahead of us.  We were going to Versailles.

To get to Versailles we took the train.  We figured out the tickets and the trains without too much trouble and had a nice ride out through the city to Versailles.  We arrived there at about 10:00 in the morning when things were opening and there was already a huge line.  We had decided not to go in since we had been in lots of palaces in Russia and had seen some of the remnants in the Louvre.  We came for the gardens.  

Riding the train (notice the ceiling!)

The front side of the palace. 

The gardens were huge. We really enjoyed them and walked a few miles on the paths there (all for free).  We were a bit sad that the flowers hadn't been planted yet, so it was still quite barren, but it was peaceful and beautiful and historic.

Looking down from the palace at the gardens and the lake.

Looking down toward the garden and the lake. Men cleaning the fountains to prepare them for the summer.

Walking in the gardens and forests.

Looking back up toward the palace.

Ducks swimming in the fountains/pond nearest the lake.

Selfie at Versailles!

Foxy  lady at the upper fountain.

We realized that the Paris Temple was close, so we looked up how to get there and walked about a  mile from Versailles and found the temple.  It is built to blend in with the landscape a bit, but was still beautiful.  The best part was that it has a large garden inside the compound (there is patron housing, some missionary housing, and a visitor center as part of the compound) that was very beautiful.  The flowers at the temple were growing and the garden was peaceful and beautiful.  We went in to the visitor center and learned about the challenges that had to be overcome to build the temple in France. 

We hadn't come prepared to do a session so we didn't go inside, but we were very glad that we made the stop.  It was a highlight of the trip.

Front entrance to temple complex.

Christus statue inside the garden.

Enjoying the garden and the flowers.

Returning to the train station after our Versailles adventure.

We stopped for lunch at a little tourist place, and Yulia bought a few souvenirs and then we got back on the train to head into the city.  We got off at a different station where we caught a train to go to the Paris Catacombs.

The Catacombs ended up being one of our favorite attractions. The bones of millions of people were moved from the cemeteries of Paris during a period of time.  The bones were placed in old limestone mines underneath the city.  The bones were stacked very carefully and the overall tone and experience was one of respect and peace.  It was interesting being so far beneath the city in the mines.

We waited in line for about thirty minutes before we got in, and spent about an hour walking through the Catacombs.  We exited in a different part of the city and had to walk for a ways to get to the metro system.  We caught the metro to our station.  We stopped by a little pastry place and bought some treats before heading to our hotel where we rested for awhile before going out to our last meal in Paris.

We ate at a little restaurant about 2 blocks from the hotel.  It was modern cuisine focusing on roasted meats of various kinds.  It was a yummy meal.  We were the first ones in the place again (we got there at 7:00) but it was filling up when we were leaving.

These metro trains rain above ground (elevated trains) and were on regular tires.  It was interesting.

Inside the corridors of the old mine going toward the ossuaries.

Stacked bones. Hundreds of piles like this filled up rooms and rooms under the city.

Information about source of the bones.

Pastries in Paris!

Some treats for now and some for later to bring home to the kids.

At the train station waiting to board our train to the Airport.

The train station had scientific equations written all over.

Friday morning we woke up, packed, and headed to the metro.  We stopped for breakfast at our little McDonald's as usual.  We made our way to the main station, transferred to the airport line, and made our way back.  Our flights back to Kazakhstan on Belavia were pleasant and uneventful.  We had a quick layover (about 90 minutes) in Minsk and made it back to Kazakhstan at about 3:30 in the morning and back to our apartment at about 4:30.

We had left Astana and returned to a newly-renamed capitol - Nur-Sultan - and a new "acting president." Interesting things happen in Kazakhstan while we are away. A few summers ago they renamed the airport after President Nazarbayev while we were traveling.

We had a wonderful time in France. It was a nice anniversary trip and we were both very happy that we had the opportunity to go together.  The kids would have loved it, but it was nice to have a couples trip, too.