P minus 2.

I spent this morning exploring the palace at Versailles (once again, free!). I caught the RER out (about half an hour). It was incredibly impressive. I spent about an hour exploring inside the palace and about three in the gardens (I got lost). The gardens are HUGE! And, there weren't many people at all there, so it was cool to walk through them completely alone.
To both sides of the palace for kilometres and kilometres, the gardens stretch. All completely immaculately manicured. There are fifteen individual small (500m x 500m) gardens, and then there's the huge lake, all surrounded by more garden. I walked through the maze of garden until about halfway down the massive lake, then walked back up through the centre.
I then met Nat back in Paris at the Eiffel tower to climb it. There was a line this time, but it didn't take us too long to go up. The view was so pretty! When we got to the top, there was still bright sunlight, but we went right at the time when the sun was about to go down, so we got some awesome daytime, dusk and nighttime photos.
Afterwards, we headed back to a different set of Christmas markets, and then we parted ways (I won't see her again before the flight home) and I headed back to my hotel.

Entering through the main gates

The chapel

Super ornate! And so much gold!

Top view of the chapel

So much paint!

A massive bed...

The hall of mirrors

View of the gardens from the hall of mirrors

The royal bed (King Louis XIV)

Maris Antoinette's bed

Where they ate… Looks a bit poor for their tastes. 

Not enough gold

The marble courtyard

A casual sitting room, if you can get up on the chair

View over Water Avenue, down to Neptune Fountain

Looking straight down from the palace. The Water Parterre 

on either side and Grand Canal further down

View over the Orangery and Swiss Lake

Heaps of foliage

And more foliage, down to the King's garden

View back to the palace from the South Parterre

Water Parterre and palace

View from Palace steps over Latona Fountain and Parterre,

Grand Canal and Apollo Fountain

Entering Girandole Grove

Fountains and lakes in Girandole Grove

The Saturn Fountain between the Kings Garden, Chestnut Room,

Colonnade Grove, Girandole Grove, and Mirror Fountain

Mirror Fountain

The King's Garden

Chestnut Room

Apollo Fountain

View back of the palace from Apollo Fountain

The Grand Canal

Grand Canal from Apollo Fountain

Down the Grand Canal

View back up

Some interesting gardening...

In Colonnade Grove

Jardin de Trocadéro

The Arc de Triomphe is to the right

View over the Seine at sunset

Down the Champs de Mars 

Jardin de Trocadéro at dusk

Super windy when the sun went down