Paris December 26 - * updated Jan 1

Clear cold day with wind. Versailles was beautiful and cold. Walked and walked. We didn't get up early as planned, as our room is next to two dorm rooms, and they were very loud last night. (We were supposed to be in a dorm room as well, but somehow ended up in a room by ourselves!) Then, others were very loud this morning. AND, I didn't close the window tight last night and it came open and was banging. I woke up because the room was so cold, but thought all the noise was from the dorm room! When I finally work up enough to realize it was the window, it was pretty darn cold. Anyway, we ended up sleeping in and didn't get to Versailles until 11am. It was still plenty of time to see all we wanted to see -- if it had been summer I know that we wouldn't have made it through everything. Amazing how busy everything is now (same as when we were in Prague) and I just can't imagine these places in the summer!



*The rooms in the palace at Versailles reminded me much of the rooms in other palaces I have been in: every last detail of the room very opulent - from the wallpaper and lighting to the furniture and floor covering. However, there was one huge difference. For some reason, there is an installation of Jeff Koonz artwork throughout the palace. There was an explanation, but nothing could justify his garish sculputures placed in the middle of these classic rooms. For those unfamiliar with this artist's work, here is what Wikepedia has about this particular art show:


"Considered as his first retrospective in France, the 2008 exhibition of seventeen Koons sculptures at the Chateau de Versailles also marked the first ambitious display of a contemporary American artist organized by the chateau. The New York Times reported that “several dozen people demonstrated outside the palace gates” in a protest arranged by a little-known, right-wing group dedicated to French artistic purity."



We stopped at the Eiffel Tower on our way back, but decided not to go up because it was soooo cold and windy. Will do that over the next few days. We took a local bus to see different neighborhoods - which we did in slow-motion as we hit traffic time. So many distinct neighborhoods with their own stores, cafes, veterinarians(!), etc.

Ok, a bit more about this hostel. It is on the Montmarte hill; we enter at the upper street level, and the hostel goes down at least three floors, running along the hill. Out of all the hostels I have stayed in this is the most questionable in terms of cleanliness, but at least we have our own room. We had a hard time finding a place for the seven nights within our price range. We are paying 25 eu per night each, and it includes breakfast. This is kind of at the high end for us. (I am appalled at how the Hungarian forint has fallen: let's just say my salary wouldn't even start to pay rent at home). We also have free internet, but the keyboard I am using right now is the only one that is an American keyboard. One is the same as we have in Hungary, and the others are French -- so the keys are all different, making it very difficult to type much. I am in the small lobby right now, with people waiting all over the place to use this. The desk clerk is new - he was being trained when we checked in - and just a bit ago, the front door of the hotel somehow locked and people couldn't get in! He was having a heck of a time trying to get it unlocked, and more and more people were waiting outside. He finally went downstairs to do something, and one of the guys in the lobby got up and used a credit card and opened the door! Why he didn't help before, I don't know....

Must go and plan the day tomorrow and take some aleve to ease these sore muscles....