Around Europe in 21 Days Pt. 4 -- Verily, Versailles

Your daily fact -- Versailles is not part of Paris.  Believe it or not, it is its own town in Île-de-France, and more like a suburb of Paris.  Granted, it is only about 10 miles outside the city center and has a metro stop a mere jaunt from the Château de Versailles - BUT remember when I told you that there were strikes in France strongly affecting the train schedule?  Trains to and from Versailles were still running, but on a somewhat unregulated basis.  SNCF was telling commuters to check the schedules the night before, when daily printouts were being released.  Naturally, the day before I planned to visit Versailles, I was refreshing the website every so often to make sure I would actually be able to make it there and back.

But, what luck, my particular train line was running smoothly.  To the Palace of the Sun King!

No, not this one (where my HZD fans at?)

Yes, this big ole foppy fop on his majestic effing unicorn.

Around Europe in 21 Days Pt. 3 -- La Vie est Belle

As the bus pulled into the station in the village of Bercy, the 18-year-old version of me was having a small fit.  FINALLY, here I was in Paris!  Something I'd been dreaming of since I'd started taking French in the 7th grade.  What would I do first?  Moodily sip espresso at a cafe?  Pair cheeses and wines at a farmer's market?  Wander le Cathedrale Notre Dame in search of a clandestine hunchback?  Get rained on?

I love Paris in the summer when it pours a deluge on my head

Around Europe in 21 Days Pt. 2 -- Planes, Trains, and Hurricanes

I have less than positive feelings about travel days, a stress that I admittedly put on myself.  The first day out is the worst, for everyone I imagine, but definitely for me.  Double-checking that I have everything, remembering at the last minute what random non-essential I didn't grab, giving myself way more than enough time to catch my flight -- I have, more than once, waited in excess of 2 hours after getting through security.  Though I have never missed a flight, I am not proud of myself.

And of course, security.

JFC, TSA.  I would love to know if anyone has really done a full analysis of the before-and-after effects of limiting liquid carry-ons to <3.4 fl oz crammed into a clear plastic baggie.  I wonder if the end of that analysis would be that we've all learned to become Tetris masters of lotion and toothpaste.

I have taken a few pages from the book of my boy George Clooney from the film Up in the Air, as far as packing and surviving security, and I have gotten my own check-in process down to a science.  Still, nothing can ever *really* alleviate the pain of waiting half an hour+ in line, kicking your luggage the half-nanometer down the queue every time someone moves, waiting to step into a magical microwave that says whether or not you are a risk whilst praying that you aren't pulled aside because a random sliver of something in your pocket set off an alarm, and then hastily shoving your carefully separated things back into your carry-ons before you clog the conveyor belt.

In short, blah blah, screw you, it's a huge pain in the ass.

Around Europe in 21 Days Pt. 1 -- The So-so'est Laid Plans

"Be VERY careful.  Don't talk to any strangers, and don't walk down any quiet alleys.  You will get robbed or raped and no one would even know."

^^^ My mom's immediate reaction upon telling her that I was planning to travel by myself in Europe for 3 weeks.  Is it... is it because I'm too young and beautiful, Mother?

Fortunately, the support was there in other places, because I would have totally lost it and given up on this excursion otherwise.  Why?  For those of you who remember my Italy series, you will recall that a.) I am prone to panic, and b.) am somewhat vexed by the idea of international travel.  Add to that the concern that I could even afford this trip in light of the fact that I would be staring at a big ole' student loan bill soon, and we have a base recipe for regret.

But, being the everlasting fount of positive energy that he is, SJH was able to talk me out of my Negative Nancy doldrums.

Pictured:  Pre-planning discussion