Saturday, Bastille Day 14.07.07

Today was the day we seemed to hit the wall. After 8 full days of constant activity and taking in of culture; and after yesterday’s miles and miles by the Seine and up and down the Eiffel Tower, the exhaustion caught up with us. I think we all woke up tired. And by the time we finally (miraculously) got to Versailles by car I know I was ready to just lay down. So Versailles was a bit of a wash for me, I was in one of those “I don’t care if I ever ever see another historical artifact again” moods. It was time for me to go home and lay down. Sure, Paris is amazing and we only have today and Sunday left, but I’m not doing myself any good trudging along like this. Teal and Uriah had already recognized their limit and had opted out of the Versailles trip. Now it was time for me and the girls to rest.

So, Karl’s off with the boys right now at the Bastille day celebration and fireworks at the Eiffel Tower. I am sure it is amazing and festive and an experience of a lifetime. But with the way we were feeling, I sense it may have turned into a whinefest for the girls and me. An evening at home was just what we needed. So we said “when”, and it was great. Take out Indian food for me and Sienna, Pizza for Ava and the Devil Wears Prada, which has great scenes of Paris and we watched and pointed and said “we were there!!”

This evening I was reading the Fodors travel forum and someone posted their itenerary for an upcoming trip to Paris asking for advice to see if it was well planned. Each day was jam packed with 4, 5, or 6 activites and I was so tempted to reply “stop! don’t do that!!!” But then I thought, maybe it’s just me. I am the anti-traveller, always jonesin’ for a place to sit down with my book or a comfortable bed to lay down in for 9 hours… But we sure have had fun in Paris and nearly whine-free.

One last thing but I can’t help but compare these historical figures to our current celeberatarians. Could Donald Trump be a current day Louis XIV? Versailles was one of many monuments to meglamania that have been erected (hmmm, interesting choice of word…) throughout the ages. It is grand and palatial and so over the top, did we learn nothing from the French Revolution???