Chateau x 3

Yesterday I went on a field trip for my favorite class here in Paris, Castles and Gardens. We visited three castles out to the west of Paris: Château de Maisons, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, and Versaille. They were all easy to get to from the center of Paris via RER. We were so lucky to have a gorgeous day to walk around and explore the grounds and castles.

Our first stop was at Château de Maisons. A beautiful 17th century manor located in a really charming suburb of Paris. It actually kind of reminded me of my home town, if my home town had a giant palace in the center of it...

After Château de Maisons, we picked up some lunch and took a bus to our next stop: Saint-Germain-en-Laye. This was a renaissance castle where Louis XIV was born and raised. We didn't go inside the castle, its now home to an antiquities museum, but we walked around the garden and grounds. It was so beautiful and peaceful, and was definitely a nice change from the hustle and bustle of Paris.

The final stop of the day was Versailles. I had been there a few years previously but it was during the summer and just too crowed to handle. I remember my friend and I rented a row boat to row along the canal just to get away from all the crowds. This time we were there at the perfect time of day, late afternoon. The light at this time was beautiful. We entered over by Marie Antoinette's little village which I have always wanted too see. It was so cute! Everywhere around the grounds people were walking their dogs or just going for an afternoon stroll.

To say I loved the grounds at Versailles would be an understatement. I am obsessed with them, it definitely helped that we had gorgeous weather and it wasn't too crowded.

We wandered around the grounds for a bit before going into the actual castle. What was surprising to me was that even though it was November the place was still packed! You could barely move from room to room! I'm not really a fan of the interior of Versailles, though I can respect it for its historical significance, I just don't like all the dark colors, small rooms, and trippy fabric covered walls. Needless to say I got out of there as soon as I could! (I just wanted to spend my entire day in the gardens to be honest).

After a full day of touring it was all I could do to drag my self back to the RER and into my apartment. I promptly got into bed and didn't leave for the rest of the day!