French Week wrap-up

Like all vacations it seems, there just wasn't enough time to do it all here at French Week(s).  I really wanted to seek out authentic French cafe au lait, but didn't get the chance (I'm not a coffee drinker usually, but the cafe au lait in Paris was fabulous & if/when we go back, the first thing I'm going to do is get coffee)!  I also didn't get a chance to watch my favorite movie of all time (which happens to be French), Amelie.  And I'm working on a little France-related knitting project that I was hoping to have wrapped up for the French Week(s) finale, but malheureusement, it is not ready.  So, we may have a petite French Week coming soon!

Here is a teaser of the knitting project I've been working on:

 
I think it will turn out cute - I'll post it as soon as it's done!

Anyway, on our last full day in France, we visited Versailles!  It was wonderful, beautiful, gorgeous, amazing, etc, etc.!  I am so glad we went there!  It was one of my favorite parts of our trip.

The palace itself is beautiful & huge and you can walk through various rooms & see works of art & furnishings (like Marie Antoinette's bed).  DH took a picture of me standing in front of a fireplace & the log is twice the length of my body - everything there is so grand!  And then there's the outside of the palace - the fountains (which we saw running) & the gardens are so opulent.  If you explore even further, you will come across the Grand Trianon Palace, which was King Louis XIV's palace-on-the-side.  I think we were the only ones there, so we pretended that it was all ours!  Outside, there were brides everywhere - we came across like 3 or 4 of them, all getting their professional photos done!  What a gorgeous setting for wedding photography!

We also explored the Petit Trianon (I regret that we didn't go in - next time, we will for certain!), the temple of love, which Marie Antoinette had built for her husband & Marie Antoinette's hamlet.  If you go to Versailles, you must check these out!  It's sort of off the beaten path, but these areas are not only beautiful, but they also give you a well rounded view of Versailles as a whole.  We were practically the only tourists in all these parts of Versailles - it was just us & the brides!

That same day, we also went to see Sacre-Couer.  As you can see, we had perfect September weather:

 
The funny thing about Paris is that there are so many opportunities for a good view.  You can go up in the Eiffel Tower of course, but also in many of the cathedrals, departments stores, museums, etc.  So, we could have gone up in Sacre-Couer, but we chose not to - next time we will!  We did go inside the cathedral & there was mass, so we popped in & out - it was beautiful!

We did ride up the big Montmartre hill on the funicular, which was cool.  Seriously, we did so much walking on our trip that any time we saw an elevator or a funicular, we jumped at the chance!  We stayed in the Montmartre area that evening for dinner & DH asked the waiter to take our picture (gasp!  I didn't think French waiters were open to that sort of thing - but he politely obliged & my eyes are closed for the pic)!  We also took a Seine river cruise that night, which was neat at night.  I particularly loved seeing the buttresses of Notre Dame from the boat, as we did not see them when we visited the cathedral.

My intention today was to watch Amelie & eat creme brulee - I only got to the creme brulee part!  But it was delicious!

I got the recipe from The Best Recipe - very quick & easy and I always tell myself that I need to double it because it goes fast around here.  I usually make creme brulee on New Year's Day - that's my goofy little tradition because it rhymes!

In conclusion to French Week(s), if you ever get a chance to go to France, go!!!  I hope we can go back someday.  It is so wonderful.  I just don't have the words to do it justice.  And if you go, please share your pics with me!

Salut!
Cheryl