Day 22: Paris

1. The French hate me. I paid at a café with coins, and when the waiter asked for "le service," I pretended to not understand and ran away. "'Le service,' qu'est-ce que c'est? Je ne comprends pas..."
2. To all Americans: you are not the only English-speakers in the world. An American asked me to take "un photo, s'il vous plait." When I answered in English, he said, "oh, you're American!" I corrected him, and he said, "well, you speak good English." Ugh.
This and more happened on a trip to Versailles, the biggest, busiest and most expensive tourist spot in Paris. First of all, the crowds were truly monstrous, as were the gardens. The gardens are all about size - big hedges, big ponds, big lawns, big fountains, lots of statues. There aren't many details or cosy corners - actually there are a couple, but they're pretty hard to find.
It took me forever to figure out how to actually get into the palace - when I did, I was suitably wowed. It's Chatsworth plus the Louvre and multiplied a few times, more or less. Astonishingly opulent. No wonder the French peasantry revolted. Not much more to say - it's very big and very, very fancy.
Trained back to Paris proper, and went for a walk from the Jardin du Luxembourg (which is lovely) to la Tour Montparnasse - notable for being the only skyscraper in central Paris.
Had a rest back in the hostel before going for a walk up the street, and am glad I did - it's noisy, dirty and uncouth - decidedly un-Parisian. Also found a little market that's 90% African and Maghreb. Lots of these folks are straight out of Senegal/Mali/Algeria etc, so lots of languages, lots of colours, and lots of noise.