On y va!

What a week! On Sunday I talked to the teacher of the class above mine and she gave me the go-ahead to make an attempt at jumping to her class. She also gave me all of her notes for the three units that I will have to learn through self-study in the next week. I was going to start studying Monday, but I ended up spending much of the day working on the newsletter that you haven't gotten yet because it is still not finished. Yesterday I had a really unexpected blessing. The daughter of one of my friends here is visiting this week so they have been running around Paris seeing all the sites. Yesterday as I was about to start studying, my friend walked by and I asked her what they were doing that day, and she said they were going to Versailles. Well, Versailles is one of the three places in France I have been wanting to go but I never had anybody to go with. So I quickly packed some warm clothes and a little food, and off we went!
We got to the massive estate (think in square miles, not feet) with very little problem. We were even serenaded on the train by two different people, first a guy with a guitar and later by a man with an accordion.
However, when we got to the castle we quickly learned that the only thing more abundant in Versailles than gold is queue lines. Fortunately we were only in line for about an hour for our tickets. When we got to the ticket booth there was a lot of fun confusion, conducted mostly in French, and it ended with none of us getting the tickets we wanted or needed. My friends weren't able to get the tickets they wanted, and I wasn't given a ticket at all. People under 26 pay a reduced fair, but I didn't have my driver's license or passport on me (oops), so I showed the lady my student ID and explained to her in French that I was a student in France. She asked for my residence card, to which I did my best to explain that I have submitted the application but don't have it yet. She told me to explain that to the people at the castle entrance when I got there. As I thanked her and turned to leave, the guy in line behind me whispered "good luck."
The line to get into the castle took about half an hour. At the entrance I decided to drop the student thing and just tell the woman that I was 24. That had worked for me at the Judaism museum and they hadn't even asked for an ID. Unfortunately, this time she asked for my ID. I showed her my student card. She wasn't impressed. I didn't blame her, but this was very bad. I did not want to face the 1 1/2 hour line again. But then she had mercy on me and said she would make an exception (probably because I was with 2 friends and she could tell it was going to be a mess otherwise) and let me in. What a kind lady. She let me in for free, even. We all breathed a sigh of relief, said a prayer of thanks, and in we went!
Versailles is massive and beautiful. After 2 1/2 hours of walking through gold-lined, ornately painted rooms, we finally got to the gardens. The garden, which used to be 30 square miles, is now a tenth of that. That means it is still larger than some state parks in Minnesota. By the time we got out there the sun was setting so we didn't actually get to see much. All told, it was a very good day and fulfilled my desire to see a really big castle. Of all the buildings I have seen in France, Versailles is the most beautiful so far.

Anyway, after all that fun yesterday I finally buckled down today and got started on my studies. I got through Unit 6 in the book without much difficulty. Then I started going through the teacher's notes, starting with Unit 5. I finished up her Unit 5 notes in about half an hour and now I think I am about a third to half way through her notes for Unit 6. I expect to finish off Unit 6 tomorrow and get started on Unit 7. If I can have seven done by Saturday, I should be able to do Unit 8 on Monday and Tuesday and have Wednesday for review. Things are looking good!

But, I really should go to bed. Here are some pictures from Versailles:

We're in! Back in the day, only the extremely powerful and extremely wealthy were allowed inside this gate. Yesterday, it was still only by the Grace of God we got there!
The castle chapel, taken from the second floor.
I love this staircase.
Hall of Mirrors. And lots of crystal.
Gold and crystal, gold and crystal.
Anybody look familiar? Check out the man with the red sash. Then look at the flag on the tent. You can also cheat by looking at the year on the top of the painting.
Looking out on the gardens.
Another view of the gardens. I believe this was from the King's chambers.
pillars in Marie Antoinette's palace.
Sunset chased us home!