Versailles and Lauren's Last Day

Just as a reminder, I'm still updating from when my friend Lauren was visiting me here in Paris!  This is the final entry on our adventures and we decided on her last day we would make the voyage out to Versailles to see the palace where Marie Antoinette and her husband King Louis XVI (that is 16 for those of you who aren't down with Roman Numerals, myself included) lived.  We hopped on the RER C out to Versaille which is just about a 30 minute train ride.  The train station is very central and as soon as you step onto the street there are signs pointing you to the palace.  After a short walk Lauren and I lay eyes on the palace.  As we walk closer we start to notice something strange.  There were signs that said "Tickets" and pointed in a certain direction, yet we didn't see anyone at a ticket booth.  Huh?  Upon further investigation and seeing a sign posted on a random door for the restrooms it clearly said in all capital letters "THE PALACE IS CLOSED ON MONDAY'S!"  Damn!  Are you serious?  We just came all the way out here and it's closed?!  They failed to mention that in our little tourist book!  Either way the grounds were still open and you could walk around, you just didn't have access to the inside of the palace.  I will have to say the gardens were absolutely beautiful.  I have every intention on going back out to Versailles (sorry Lauren) in early March.  But I won't be going on a Monday, haha.  There were also fountains that weren't flowing because they were frozen solid all the way through.  We know this because lauren threw a rock in the fountain and both of us were very much thinking it would break through the ice and that sucker bounced!  So hopefully by March everything will be thawed out!  I really would like to take a guided tour through the palace.  I saw the movie Marie Antoinette (starring Kirsten Dunst)  not too long ago and really wanna check it out.  Here is a pic of Lauren and I locked out of the gates to the front entrance of the palace.

Don't worry folks, when i go back I plan on taking a lot more pics!  So after the dissapointment of the palace being closed, we decided to indulge in a little comfort food before we took the train back into Paris.  Again because the palace was closed on Monday so were a lot of the shops and restaurants in town but low and behold ol' trusty McDonalds was open!  So we both grabbed a burger and some fries and it was delicious!  We then caught the train and I think Lauren and I both napped on the way back.  Later that evening Lauren and I went and ate at a resturant called Le Relais Gascon.  This place was referred to us by my roommate and also some others.  They are known for their giant salads but neither of us got a salad on her last night here.  I started off with some French Onion Soup and it was by far the tastiest soup I have had!  It ought to be for 7 Euro!  For our main dish Lauren and I both got a filet.  We also got a huge pitcher of wine, haha.  It felt like a bottle but it wasn't, but I just remember filling up my glass over and over and it was never ending!  We also splurged and ordered a dessert and it was pretty craptacular, we definitely didn't finish it.  By the time we got out of there it was a little after midnight.  We weren't sure where to go, we actually wanted to try our hardest to venture outside of going to Corcorans since we spent many a night there.  First we hit up a place that was at the bottom of Rue Lepic.  I had passed by there several times and it always seemed to be crowded.  Well we went in and ordered a beer and were immediately wanting to leave.  They were jamming Elvis Presley.  Yes I know he's a legend but we needed something more upbeat, so onwards to the next place.  Again the next place we chose was called something lik "House of Biers" however when we walked in it was more of a restaurant lay out.  So again we had just one beer and decided, what the hell, let's just give in and go to Corcoran's there is bound to be a good time there.  Well while walking to Corcoran's there is another little Irish bar called The Harp, just 2 doors down and when we walked past we looked in the window and it seemed like a good time was being had.  So we decide to go into the harp!  We actully had a blast!  Steve was our bartender and we also met a girl named Louise who had lived in De Soto, TX for awhile!  What are the odds.  After dancing, laughing, and swapping stories with Louise it was time for the Harp to close down.  But that wasn't stopping our evening!  We ventured next door to Corcoran's but they were getting ready to close down too since they weren't very buys.  Oh no!  Again we head down the street to trusty O' Sullivans.  But not before Lauren got a homless person shot on the street!

Here we are on our last night with Louise, the girl who lived in DeSoto for awhile!

So inside O'Sullivans, there proved to be some interesting characters, but hey that's what makes for good stories.  Meet Jesus, the creeper that wouldn't leave me alone, even after I told him I had a boyfriend (which I don't) but the guy wouldn't take no for an answer!

Finally we decided to get out of O'sullivans, I'm not sure if it was closing time or if we had just had enough of the place.  BUT we still wanted to party so our friendly bartender Steve from the Harp offered for us to go back to his bar to play pool and have some drinks.  So of course that is exactly what we did!

Don't you just love Lauren's Donald Trump comb over in the last picture, haha!  Just kidding with you Lauren!  So after we beat ol' Steve in pool we decided to liven things up a bit and do a little bit of target practice at the dart board!  Seriously this is one of the most random and fun nights I have had in Paris, it was a blast and won't be forgotten!

The dart board aka our target!  Some holes may or may have not gone in the booth, haha. Afterwards we were pooped and a little bit hungry so we had the best ham and cheese toastie (outside of mine of course)!

We soon called it a night/morning because it was nearing 7 am, the sun was coming up, and we had to wake up in like 2 hours to get Lauren to the airport!  It was the strangest thing walking home in the near daylight.  Everyone was getting ready to go to work, hopping in cabs and getting on the subway!  When we got back to my place we layed down for just a couple hours and actually woke up a bit late to catch the train for Lauren to get to the airport.  Once we were on the train we were good to go...so we thought!  Literally the last stop right before the airport our train broke down of some sort!  Ahhh what a nightmare!  They kept coming on over the loud speaker and saying something in French, but seeing as how neither of us speak French we weren't sure of the situation.  I asked a guy who ended up being French/Canadian and that is when he informed us of the fact the train was getting repaired.  In total I think we were stopped for about 30 to 45 minutes!  And to top it off there was a cat somewhere in our cabin that kept meowing!  Finally we get moving again and get Lauren to her gate.  It was touch and go there for a little bit but everything worked out and she made it back to the US just fine!