May 30, 2018

paris part III + versailles


[ Dress: ASOS | Sneakers: Converse | Bag: Mango (similar) | Sunglasses: AJ Morgan (also love this pair) ]



Today I’ll be sharing a few remaining highlights from Paris and then our time in Versailles!

Palais-Royal: Seeing the black and white striped pillars of the Palais-Royal courtyard was high on my Paris bucket list. I had seen the whimsical, Dr. Seuss-esque installation many times from other bloggers in my Instagram feed, and needed to see the place for myself!  I just so happened to be wearing the most perfect black and white striped dress to match the surroundings.  It’s definitely a {quick} must-see when in Paris.


Crème brûlée at La Fontaine de Mars: One evening after an early dinner, we found ourselves craving some authentic crème brûlée, so Patrick of course hopped on his phone searching for the best in Paris. One of the top hits was at La Fontaine de Mars, which just so happened to be down the street from our apartment.  We sat outside in the evening air, alternating spoonfuls of the delicious, marshmallowy dessert with a foamy cappucino.  I was never a crème brûlée fan, but after having one of the best, I now find myself craving it at the most random times!


Playground Duperré: I had seen a feature on this colorful basketball court in a design magazine a year or so ago and saved it in my phone in case we ever went to Paris.  So when our France trip came to fruition, this destination was immediately added to the itinerary.  However I was nervous to know what we would find when we got there because, as with most murals and installations, they get taken down or painted over eventually.  Much to our excitement, the court was still there and buzzing with basketball games and onlookers.  We also paid a visit to the Pigalle Basketball shop across the street where Patrick bought yet another pair of Air Jordans (I think he has more shoes than me...).  The walk to Pigalle from where we were in Le Marais was equally as enjoyable with fun shopping (think vintage shops and cute boutiques) and great surroundings. 


Now on to Versailles!  At the advice of our travel savvy friends, we dedicated two days to Versailles.  We took an uber from Paris to the town of Versailles (a scenic 40-minute drive) rather than the Metro since we had all of our luggage with us.  We treated ourselves to a stay at the beautiful Trianon Palace Versailles, a Waldorf hotel, mainly for the close proximity to to the palace (it's literally right at the edge of the palace property) but also because we had been staying in Airbnb's all trip so this was our one splurge.



We spent the afternoon exploring all the palace grounds had to offer.  We rented bikes and rode around the entire Grand Canal, toured Grand Trianon and Petit Trianon, the gardens, and devoured a picnic of cheese, bread, fresh fruit, macaroons and of course rosé that we had purchased in the city that morning (these picnics turned into an everyday occurrence in case you haven't noticed yet 😊) along the canal.

The next morning, we arrived to the Palace promptly at 8:30 AM and were about eighth in line to get in when it opened at 9:00 (we went on a Wednesday).  Many reviews had us fearful of two-hour long queues so we made sure that wouldn't happen to us.  We had purchased tickets ahead of time which helped get us through quickly once inside the palace.  

The palace is amazing, as to be expected.  I spent a decent amount of time the night before brushing up on my Louis XIV, Louis XV, Louis XVI and French Revolution history in order to really understand the palace residents and just how opulently they were living.  We opted for the audio guided tour which I would definitely recommend to help with the history as well.  My only wish was that more of the palace was open to the public.  We only got to see about 1/10th of it!  Needless to say, I have been submersing myself into every bit of French history since our visit (I watched Marie Antoinette two times on the plane ride home!) 


We finished with our tour around noon, checked out of the hotel and headed back to Paris for our final night before embarking on our journey to Provence for the second leg of our trip!

xo, Annelise

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