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Day Six: March 9, 2000
After finding the breakfast area with considerably less trouble today, I finally made the perfect soft boiled egg! Okay, this may not seem like a big deal to most people, but I was extremely pleased with myself. Actually, the entire breakfast was perfection... the kiwi fruit was ripe, the toast was crisp, and the hot chocolate was the perfect temperature. I heartily congratulated myself for a job well done, then I hopped over to the lobby to meet with the rest of our group.
Versailles was the top dog on our itinerary. I was excited about seeing the Sun King's legendary domain, so I could hardly sit still on the R.E.R. (Resau Express Regionale) as the fast train made its way through the suburbs of Paris. When we arrived at Versailles, the weather felt rather wet, misty, and cold. I expected Versailles to be a lovely country estate, but I got a castle in the middle of a huge suburban area. My disappointment was increased by the pay toilets. I didn't feel like paying ten francs just to urinate! So, I didn't go to the bathroom and I probably made myself more miserable than I deserve. Amale showed us the chapel, beddrooms, dining rooms, the Hall of Mirrors, and various other rooms around the house. However, the putrid stench of three hundred years of bowel movements chased every other thought out of my head. There was only one toilet in Versailles, and that was reserved exclusively for the king. Everyone else did their business in abandoned hallways, window sills, and dark stairs, and the lingering smells are still deadly to innocent olfactory cells. Just about everyone decided that they wanted to leave Versailles early, but I have to admit that I wish we could've seen the gardens or Marie Antoinette's peasant village, but I didn't complain too loudly.
We were a tired bunch of girls, desperate for a shopping trip, so we picked up a small meal at McDonalds (le Big Mac pour moi, s'il-vous plait) and hopped back on the R.E.R. The vast majority of us went to Galeries Layfayette and Printemps to go shopping. I wanted to see "Erasmus," a Holbein painting, so I went back to the Louvre with Sarah, Katie, and G. I'm completely and totally in love with this museum. The more time I spend in here, the longer I want to stay. Every single gallery offers more treasures than I could ever imagine in one place. First we went to see the Louvre's extensive Egyptian collection. Most of these items were confiscated (aka stolen) from Egypt during Napoleon's desert campaign. We saw early potter, a couple of sphinxes, statues of monkeys, mummies, and jewelry. My dad spent seven years in Egypt, and he often recounts tall tales about the wonders of that mystical land. We ran through the Mesopatmian display in order to see Hammurabi's Code. G marveled over the idea that this piece of stone is the first set of written laws in the world. We walked through the French sculpture garden, and honestly, I could've spent a couple of hours just sitting in that beautiful place. The glass ceiling allowed the sunlight to pour into every recess of the room. Afterwards, Sarah and I went to see my favorite Dutch artists, Van Eyck, Van Dyck, Vermeer, Heda, and Jan de Heem. I loved every single picture in the Dutch gallery - I wanted to take it all home with me. I couldn't find Holbein, so Sarah and I went to the information desk and asked. Well, it turns out that the Dutch and German galleries are closed every Thursday. Oh. Well.
We all headed back to the hotel and changed into our nice clothes for the special treat Amale had planned for us - L'Opera Comique. Sarah was especially excited about the night's entertainment because she loves opera and strives to be a future opera star. We all trooped to the Opera Comique, meeting with Mariam, Nadine, and Madam P on the way. The performance was not in the regular theater, but in a small parlor. We were served aperatifs while three male singers (all tenors) and one soprano sang selections from Berlioz - I think. It was all in French and I didn't catch a lot of what was said. I enjoyed the beautiful music, but I have to admit that I was having problems staying awake. After that long day of museum-hopping, I was pooped, so I struggled to keep my eyes open.
Everyone was starving at the end of the show, for it was almost 9:30. We went to Restaurant Fontaines St. Honore where we had prok, masta, and ice cream. Sarah delighted the waitstaff with a lovely song - she really posesses a lot of talent. The entire walk home seemed like a chilly, blissful dream. Sarah sang with a drunken gusto and received several compliments from passerbys. Again, sleep was quick to visit all of us.
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