Managed to get inside the chateau today, although there was a moment where my ticket didn't print out of the system, and a number of people were trying to make sure my transaction had processed before they could print my a new ticket... it took a while but we eventually got a replacement ticket and I began my tour. I did consider getting an audio guide, however last time I had one of those I zoned out after about 45 minutes so figured there was no point. I managed to make my way through the multiple rooms, one leading onto another... firstly looking at the Nepolean museum. It was interesting to see how extravagant the setup for him was when he out at war, the camp setup, his tent, a whole bunch of stuff that he would have, I guess I would classify it as an older day version of glamping.
The thing I found most strange is when I got upstairs to find all the rooms were all linked together, no sort of corridor seperating them... for example, a waiting room which then connected to another waiting room, which then connected to a meeting room, then to a powder room, then bedroom. You literally had to walk through one room to the next, no hallway seperating them. Now don't get me wrong, there were still hallways in this place, but the majority of rooms that I saw were all connected directly to the previous and next one. After looking through all the different areas we were allowed to explore, it had taken about 2 hours, however I had only seen a small section of the overall area, this was just the area I was allowed to view, I could imagine I'd probably be there a week looking at everything if I was allowed to.
I took one last stroll through the gardens and then back to the hotel to collect my bags before making my way to the train station, at this stage it was over 30 degrees and expected to get hotter, therefore I decided to catch the bus to the train station. The bus driver just let me on and didn't bother charging me for the ride which saved me a couple of Euro. Arriving at the train station I only had to wait a few minutes before my train arrived, and due to some maintenance further down the line, the train ended up skipping a couple of stops which made the trainride about 10 minutes quicker. Arriving in Paris it was then a matter of navigating my way though the terminals of another couple of trains until I found the one near my hotel.
I initially walked right past it, but soon realised and eventually found it, a rather small entrance led me inside where I checked in to find out that the Air Conditioning had failed for everyone, so a complimentary breakfast was being provided. I had been advised that a fan had been placed my room, however in the 30+ degree temperatures, that really didn't make much difference at all... in fact the temperature sensor didn't drop below 32 degrees on it all day or night, at one point I even spotted 33 degrees.
After offloading my bags, I made my way down the streets exploring, firstly passing Palais Garnier the Opera house, then past a Decathlon store, I felt it would be rude not to pop in to see what they had, even if I wasn't going to buy anything. From there I popped into Photomaton which was a church getting renovated, but also still functioning as a service was on when I popped in to take a look. I then proceeded down to the Luxor Obelisk. The obelisk was transported to France between 1831 and 1833 and was erected in the Place de la Concorde in 1836, it also apparently is the oldest monument in Paris, I guess because it was originally erected in Egypt back in the 13th century. The location the of the obelisk (Place De la Concorde) also happened to be in a square where the Rugby World Cup supporters village was, I figured I may as well pop in and take a look around and get some of the vibe from all the supporters that were there watching the game. Half an hour later I strolled down toward the Louvre, by this stage the sun was starting to go down, but still plenty of light, I sat there for a while and just people watched, a lot of people getting proposed to, more people having wedding photos taken of them. Eventually it was time to stroll back to the hotel. Passing a few people dancing out on the street on the way back. Im not sure if it was just something they do, or if this was an actual performance, either way, was good to see people up and dancing.