Day 22: Versailles

Today we headed to Versailles! The morning started off cold but I wasn't expecting it to down pour.  We got on the metro and got to a train station.  We took an hour train to get there and the stop was closed so we had to walk for 15 minutes in the pouring rain.  My boots already had a hole in the bottom and within minutes my socks and feet were cold and wet.  When we got there it got colder and the wind got worse.  Our directors advised us to go to the gardens first because there wouldn't be as many people there, so Lauren and I got our umbrellas and did just that.  It was so cold for the first part that we didn't even want to take pictures.  But then I decided that this is a once in a life time experience so I put the umbrella away, took out my camera, and just started taking pictures of everything!  The gardens were so pretty and incredibly green!  The gardens were probably my favorite part of Versailles! :)

Lauren and I were tired of walking in the rain so we decided to have a little fun ;) We mimicked the statues and took tons of random pictures! We probably looked ridiculous but it was so much fun!

We wandered around the gardens more and found so many interesting things! It just kept going and going!  We only had a couple more hours and we still had to see the palace so we decided to leave the gardens.  I was sad that I wasn't able to see the whole thing, but I guess that means I'll have to come back again ;)

When we got out of the gardens the line to get in the palace was sooo long! We got lucky and saw some of our group so we got in line with them.  We waited about half an hour and then finally got in! It was so cool! 

When we walked inside we didn't know what we were getting ourselves into.  It was so incredibly packed with people.  There were more people there than I have ever seen, even more than Disneyland! Crazy huh??  It wasn't even enjoyable because there were so many tourists pushing and shoving you around.  I'm sure I would have enjoyed it more if there wasn't so many people.  The worst part about it was that Lauren and I got split up :( It was the scariest thing.  I felt completely alone and didn't know what to do.  I felt sick to my stomach and I just kept saying a little prayer that we would find each other.  I spent the rest of the time walking around trying to find Lauren and she did the same trying to find me.  I came out of the palace and she wasn't there so I decided to sit on a little bench by the exit and just wait.  It was right as I sat down that she came walking down the stairs.  We both were so relieved to find each other!  After that we could not wait to get out of the crowds so we left and went to go find food.  You'll never guess where we ate...McDonald's :)

We met back up with the group and got on a train to go back to our hotel.  When we got to our hotel we changed into our sweats and got out of our wet clothes! I finally threw away my boots!

We spent the rest of the night working on editing and uploading pictures and just relaxing :) We decided to go out and get a Coca-Cola Light so we could at least say we did something other than stay inside the whole night ;) I will never forget that wonderful experience at the mini mart in Paris! :)  We came back and just hung out in our room while listening to music.  I also got to FaceTime my mom which literally made my night! It was sooo good to talk to her! I miss her and my family so much!  Lauren and I ended the very cold but good day with some pillow talk! :)