When: April 25 // Weather: 60s and cloudy // Real life: Day 5 in Paris (and Versailles)
It’s only appropriate that immediately after the best day in Paris came the worst day in Paris. But to be clear, our worst day in Paris still beat most days anywhere else. Day 5 was no slouch, for sure. We got up super early to catch our 8:30 bus to Versailles. That was when I realized there was at least one thing I missed about America – giant cups of drip coffee. Mmmmmm.
What can I say about Versailles? There is just no way to comprehend how huge and over-the-top it is until you’re there, and even then, you don’t get to see every corner of the house and gardens. It’s absolutely insane. It was a little chilly for walking around outside with bare legs, but I had brought this dress specifically for the day we went to Versailles and the ballet, and dammit I was going to wear it.
We got back to the city around noon and hit up a museum that wasn’t on our original itinerary, the Musée de l’Orangerie. (When you’re on your dream vacation, you get to make your own rules and change them as you go along.) I’m so glad we went, because it was lovely, and I finally was able to convince Kristin that Monet wasn’t just a dude with a paintbrush and bad eyesight. Next we did a little shopping at Sézane, where I wanted to buy everything but managed to pick just one thing. I deserved to be rewarded for that, don’t you think? Perhaps with a fancy drink at Bar Hemingway? Yes, definitely.
Bar Hemingway used to be Cole Porter’s hangout – along with (obviously) Hemingway – so it only seemed right for us Hoosiers to visit and pay homage. It’s a really cool spot, and the drinks are all served with an actual live rose. When you find out how much the drinks cost, the rose makes perfect sense.
After our fancy cocktails, we rushed over to the Opera Bastille because we had tickets to see the Paris ballet perform Romeo & Juliet. I was so excited. I’ve been a dancer my whole life, but I always spent more time in ballet class than seeing actual professional ballets. Seeing one of my favorite art forms in the city I’ve always dreamed of visiting? I mean, what could be more perfect?
I’m really building this up for you, so you can see where it’s going.
We got to the theater, and the person who greeted us said something in French that I didn’t quite understand. Then, when he saw our blank expressions, he said, “do you want your money back?” More blank expressions. “There is no show tonight. There was a technical incident.” I listened while he explained there was one line for refunds and one line for exchanges, then I turned to Kristin and just started weeping like a damn baby in the middle of the lobby. I probably should have been embarrassed, but I’ll never see any of those people again, so who cares. I was sad.
We waited in line for about an hour to exchange our tickets for the following day, even though they told us that performance would probably be cancelled too (spoiler alert: it was). It took me that whole hour to recover, at which point all I wanted was a cozy sweatshirt and a big dessert. And since we make the rules (other than the rules about when the ballet happens), that’s exactly what I got. I bought a cheesy Paris sweatshirt from one of those shops with rainbow-colored plastic Eiffel Towers, I put it on immediately, and we walked down the street to a café and had wine and a lot of chocolate.
The happier version of this story is: I saw a beautiful mansion, went shopping, looked at art, had a cocktail in the 1920s, ate chocolate, and wore a cute dress. Like I said, a bad day in Paris is still a great day.
Dress // similar Earrings // similar Backpack // Shoes*
*Shoes purchased with gift card provided courtesy of Shopbop.
