Paris 17.07

Versailles

17.07 Laupäev algas varajase äratuse ja hommikusöögiga. Tavaliselt käin hommikuti jalutamas ja tühjasid tänavaid nautimas. Meie tunnine ajavahe oleks ka sellele kaasa aidanud. Aga selle aastaga olen hakanud kauem magama. Lisaks uue koha esimesed poolmagamata ööd.

Mainisin juba, et jäin Les Jardins d'Eiffel'i asukohaga väga rahule. Lisaks Eiffelile asub väga lähedal bussi- ja paarisaja meetri kaugusel metroopeatus. Laupäeval aktiviseerisimegi esimest korda oma viiepäevase ühistranspordi piletid ning suundusime esmalt metroo ja seejärel bussiga ca tunniajase sõidu kaugusel asuvasse Versailles lossi.

Versailles juurde jõudes oli järjekord juba moodustunud 😁 Igasuguste külastuste piletid tasub kindlasti eelmüügist osta. Olenevalt kohast ja kellaajast võib muidu juhtuda, et ooteaeg kulgeb paaritunniseks. 

Kuldne Versailles loss oli 17. sajandist kuni prantsuse revolutsioonini 1789a prantsuse kuningliku pere residents. Tänapäeval on see UNESCO maailmapärandi hallata. Alates väravatest, katuseharjade, seinte, lagede ja milleni veel domineeris kuld. 

Palee uksed avati kell 9 ning pärast koti kontrolli saime uudistama asuda. Nii nagu kindlustes/lossides ikka, kõike tuleb vaadata piirde tagant. Lossi tubadel on väga põnev ülesehitus, kus ühes tiivas on kõik toad omavahel koridoriga ühendatud. Kõikide ruumide seinad olid erinevat värvi, üldjuhul vältides kirjut või mustreid. Seintel loomulikult tervete kollektsioonide viisi maale. Nagu juba mainitud, ka seinad ja laed on kaunistatud, rohkemal või vähemal määral kuldsetes toonides. 

Versailles' ripub juba Louvres nähtud David'd "Napoleoni kroonimine / The Coronation of Napoleon" repro. Louvres istusime ja vaatlesime maali ning sellel paiknevate isikute ilmeid päris pikalt. Versailles märkas Aili ühe saatedaami roosat kleiti, mis originaalil on hall. 

Edasi kulgesime tohutus aias, kaasas kaart soovitusliku marsruudiga. Soovitusliku marsruudi pikkuseks on märgitud ca 2 tundi. Kusjuures läbisime poole aiast umbes tunniga, nii et aega kulub. Meil kiiret ei olnud, jalutasime ning imetlesime ümbrust.Laupäeviti ja pühapäeviti toimub aias purskkaevude show, lisaks taustal mängitavale barokkmuusikale.

Lõunapausi tegime La Flottille's. Seekord pitsa. Enne Napoli reisi õppisin Duolingo abiga itaalia keelt. Sellest on küll juba natuke aega aga üllatavalt on piisavalt palju meeles. Kusjuures itaalia ja prantsuse keeles on osad toidud sarnaste nimedega. Avastasin, et inglise keelset menüüd enamasti vaja ei läinudki. Ja lisaks, minu jaoks oli automaatne itaaliakeelne "tänan", või "tere", seega pidin iga kord hetke mõtlema, enne kui prantsuse keeles vastasin. 

Grand Trianon

Versailles' saab lisaks peapaleele külastada Louis XIV tellimusel enda privaatsuse tagamiseks ehitatud Suur Trianon'i ning eelkõige Marie Antoniette'ga seostatud Väike Trianon'i. 

Petit Trianon

Grand Trianon on nagu koopia suurest paleest. Kandsin sellel päeval kollast kleiti ning sattusin kollasesse tuppa. Kusjuures kohe järgmine oli roosa tuba, mis sobib suurepäraselt Ailile. Petit Trianon meenutab väga inglise mõisaid. Mõlemat hoonet ümbritsesid võrratud aiad. 

Sellega me suurema osa oma päevast sisustasimegi. Tagasiteel peaaeda tegime jäätisepausi, vahepeal oli soojaks läinud. Logisin ühe virtuaalse aarde ning suundusime vaikselt tagasi bussi ootama. Tagasitee bussiga oli kuum. Aknad olid lahti aga see oli ikka mega kuum. Arvestades, et pühapäeval saabus kuumalaine, siis edaspidi valisime võimalusel alati metroo. 

Õhtul tegime jalutuskäigu Seine kallastel. Imetlesime ekstravagantset, juugendstiilis laternatega Pont Aleksander III, mille olid valinud oma pulmapiltide tegemiseks vähemalt kaks noorpaari. Sild ehitati 19.sajandi lõpus Tsaar Aleksander III auks. 

Õhtusöögiks valisime I Pupi itaalia restorani, mul mereanni pasta ja jäätisega täidetud profitroolid. 

Versailles

17th July Saturday begun with an early wake-up and breakfast. I usually walk in the morning and enjoy the empty streets. Our time difference would have helped. But this year I've started sleeping longer due to my medications.  

I have already mentioned that I was very pleased with the location of Les Jardins d'Eiffel. In addition to the Eiffel, there is a bus stop very close by, and a few hundred meters away there is a metro stop. On Saturday, we finally activated our five-day public transport tickets for the first time and headed to the Palace of Versailles, which is about an hour's drive away, by metro and then by bus.

When we arrived in Versailles, the queue had already been formed 😁 Tickets for all kinds of visits are definitely worth buying in advance. Otherwise, depending on the place and time, the waiting time may be a few hours.

The golden Palace of Versailles was the residence of the French royal family from the 17th century until the French Revolution in 1789. Today, it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. From the gates, the roof ridges, the walls, the ceilings and anything imaginable was decorated by gold. 

The doors of the palace were opened at 9 am and after having our bags checked we could start exploring. As usually in fortresses/castles, everything has to be seen from behind the border. The rooms of the palace have a very exciting structure, where in one wing of the palace, all the rooms are connected by a corridor. The walls of all the rooms had different colours, generally avoiding patterns. The walls were covered with collections of painting. As already mentioned, the walls and ceilings are also decorated in golden tones and are a sight on them own.

In Versailles, there is a replica of David's "The Coronation of Napoleon" that we had already seen in the Louvre. We had sat in the Louvre and looked at the painting and the expressions of the people on it for quite some time. In Versailles, Aili noticed the pink dress of one of the escorts, which is gray in the original.

We continued our exploration in the huge garden. I also took a map with a suggested route to guide us. The length of the recommended route is set to approx. 2 hours. And we went through half the garden in about an hour, so it takes time. We were not in a hurry, we walked and admired the surroundings. On Saturdays and Sundays, there is a fountain show in the garden, in addition to background Baroque music. 

We had a lunch break in La Flottille. Pizza this time. Before travelling to Naples, I learned Italian with the help of Duolingo. It's been a while, but surprisingly, I remember enough. In Italian and French, some foods have similar names. I discovered that most of the time there was no need for an English menu. For me, I automatically wanted to say "thank you," or "hello," in Italian, so I had to think for a moment every time I could answer in French.

Grand Trianon

In addition to the main palace, you can visit the GrandTrianon, commissioned by Louis XIV to ensure his privacy. And there is also the Petit Trianon associated with Marie Antoniette. 

The Grand Trianon is like a copy of the Grand Palace. I wore a yellow dress that day and ended up in a yellow room. The next room was pink, which was perfectly suited for Aili. Petit Trianon remind me of English mansions. Both buildings were surrounded by magnificent gardens.

Petit Trianon

And that's how we spent most of our day. On the way back to the main garden we took an ice cream break, it had become warm in the meanwhile. I logged a virtual cache and we headed back to wait for the bus. The drive back was hot. The windows were open but it was still extermely hot. Considering that a heat wave arrived on Sunday, from then on, we chose the subway whenever possible.

Pont Alexander III

In the evening we took a walk on the banks of the Seine. We admired the extravagant, Art Nouveau Pont Alexander III chosen by at least two young couples for their wedding photos. The bridge was built at the end of the 19th century in honor of Tsar Alexander III. 

For dinner, we chose I Pupi's Italian restaurant. I had seafood pasta and ice-cream filled  profiteroles.