Gold, Brass, and Iron

Paris Day 4

We woke up today a bit tired. Brodie got home from le disco about 4 A.M. He had a little trouble because the metro was closed and none of the taxis would pick him up. With the aid if some helpful Parisiennes he meandered the bus lines until he was close enough to walk back to the hotel in St. Michel. Along the way he encountered many French soccer fans still celebrating their surprise victory over Brazil, sorry Jeff. It appeared that clothes were optional for those celebrating in the fountains of St. Michel. I downloaded all of Brodie’s photos and have added them to our own, on their respective days. If you search diligently, you may find his fountain photos.

We rode out to the Chateau de Versailles and explored the country palace of the French kings. It was a stunning example of their largesse and we enjoyed gazing at the splendor. Amber was ready to join the revolution thinking of how much of the French people’s wealth it must have taken to build.

On our way back to Paris, Brodie got off at the Eiffel Tower stop. He was able to take the elevators all the way to the top and got some great pictures and a video on the way down. Amber and I went on to the Rodin museum. The statues were placed in a large garden and in an old hotel-turned museum. Many of his statues appeared to grow out from the rocks he carved.

We hurried back to the hotel to pick up our luggage, meet Brodie, and grab a taxi to the Bercy train station. We had pre-reserved a couchette, which is a space big enough to seat three that converts to three bunk beds. We watched a DVD on my laptop and the porter came about 10:30 to “turn the beds down.” The bunk beds worked fine and we slept most of the 13 hours it took the train to get from Paris to Venice.