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How To Visit Venice Over A Weekend

Venice is one of those cities that give you a bit of a shock when you arrive.  It’s like one of those cities where you hear lots of about but never really lives up to expectations.  It’s not to say it isn’t worth visiting though! Just don’t expect a whole lot of dazzling lights and people dancing everywhere. If you like live music, good wine, pasta, and boat rides, this is your town. The most surprising thing about the city though is that it feels quite dead at night. It has a lot to do with the fact that there aren’t very many lights lighting the streets. It can get really dark in some parts and even a bit frightening with the narrow walkways and path you need to travel down. Generally the rule is to not walk down dodgy looking alleyways but in Venice every street looks a bit dodgy. The graffiti that litters the main tourist areas don’t really help those who are a bit paranoid, but trust me it never ever felt that unsafe. There are quite a lot of police in most of the public areas all the way through the night. Continue Reading

Day 8: Versailles, Louvre (Richelieu)

This is a bit late but here’s day 8. Nine and ten are coming soon.

Friday, I set out to head out to Château de Versailles.  But, before heading over there, there were a few things I wanted to get done first.  I needed to get more RAM for my laptop because it was near impossible to edit video.  So, I headed out to Montgallet Metro.  Grabbed a bit to eat along the way.  Ended up eating an awesome panini, filled with chicken and LOTS of cheese.

Montgallet is pretty much the electronic district here in Paris.  It’s small, more or less one street.  If you’re from Toronto, you probably guessed it.  Every SINGLE computer store here is owned by Chinese People! And not only that, they open 7 days a week; unlike every other shop in Paris.  I ended up buying my RAM from Surcouf.  Surcouf is basically like NCIX in Vancouver & Toronto, but much larger.  I checked all the Asian computer stores but they were actually more expensive.  After, I need a screwdriver so I went to Mr. Bricolage, which is their version of a Canadian Tire, but much smaller.

Château de Versailles By around noon I had finished my purchases and set out to le Château de Versailles.  The best way to get there is actually by train, or more commonly known as the RER here.  But, I decided to try to get there by metro and bus.  I made it to the metro station Pont de Sèvres and then took the 171 bus line.  I didn’t realize but my Navigo (metro pass), didn’t work to go to Versailles because it was outside of the zones my Navigo would let me go.  Still, I walked on to the bus.  Yeah, they don’t check at all.  Or rather, they just don’t care.  So, I got to the Versailles without really paying!

I spent about an hour walking around the castle.  Most of the castle at the time I went was under renovation, so quite a few sections were closed off.  But really, if you want to see this kind of art I would simple suggest someone to go to the Louvre.  What was the most exciting thing to see at Versailles was honestly the garden.  You get such a NICE view.  But, what sucked was, I couldn’t get in. Garden at Château de Versailles They ended up closing the garden early for some festival so I couldn’t actually walk around it; such a waste.  I did manage to get a couple shots from inside the castle though.  After walking around the castle I got a bite to eat.  I ended up grabbing something from the castle’s cafeteria.  Every museum in Paris has one nearby, but they’re always ridiculously expensive.  I ended up paying like 9€ for a small brownie and a bottle of Sprite.  After recharging, I decided to take the RER home since it would be much faster.  Since Versailles is outside of Paris, you have to buy a ticket that allows you to re-enter into the city.  Not the t+ but one that says Paris on it.  The t+ tickets is only for within the 6 transit zones in Paris.  I’ll do a transit tips page sometime soon.

Once I was back in Paris, I stopped by Louvre again.  On Friday nights it’s Nocture night.  Basically between 6 to 10pm its free to enter.  You really should only go during this time if its either to get night shots of the museum or to see one of the concerts playing during the night.  Because I went at this time, I missed out on getting to eat on the rooftop of the museum, on the Richelieu Pavilion side.  Still, I walked around and got more shots of the museum!  Just take a look at the photos below.  I did a lot more editing this time to make them POP!  By the time I finished at the Louvre it was about 9pm so I headed home after that.

Halah Pizza - Speed Allo After getting off at my stop, I decided to pop by the local pizza shop near my place.  And man, these pizzas are GOOD! Costs about 8€ for a small pizza but it’s worth it, and in comparison to other places its much more value for the money.  To be honest, its almost always cheaper in the more local areas to eat food.  Doesn’t matter if it’s a restaurant or for take out.  Even the bakeries are cheaper in the local areas.  For example, in the tourist areas the average price for half a baguette is like 1 to 1,50€, but near my area its like 40 cents.  There are more local bakeries around the tourist areas but be careful which in streets you wander into.  There are some really sketchy people around the tourist areas in Paris! Like REALLY SKETCHY!

Posts for day 9 and 10 coming soon! Like always enjoy the photos! I put a lot of effort into these ones, hopefully you’ll enjoy them all the same.

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