Empty? and other Paris, France Things to Do Tips

Can you imagine walking through the Luv and not having to bum into dozens of people to sea each paint, sculpture, jewel? Can you imagine being able to take as many pics of the Monalisa as you want? Can you imagine having a "private" 90 minute tour of the most important items at the museum?
That is what we got! This is what we got on November 26th we when went to see this museum.
Hardly any lines, a tour in Spanish for the 2 of us, since there wasn´t anybody else who wanted the tour (5 euros each) in Spanish, and we got to take many pictures, including Monalisa without any trouble.
It could have been nicer if we went the day before. Once we were there, we found out the museum close a few halls on Fridays because they are shorthanded, so we missed the Egypt hall which Javi really wanted to visit and a hall were they have some stuff from the Taino Culture (from Puerto Rico where I was born).
And if we would have come he day after, we would have been able to see all the jewels that have been away for over 3 years for cleaning and maintenance purposes..
But, we did get to see Napoleon´s special exhibit due to the anniversary Napoleon was celebrating. We were told both a Versailles and here that the year 2004 was a great year to visit the Luv, so we were happy we did.
The truth is that neither of us is a big fan of art (I have limited vision and can´t really appreciate it), but we agreed the Luv was somewhere people should visit while in Paris. It is not just the paintings.....there is the structure (It used to be a castle), there is all the history and there are more things than paintings to see.
For blind or visually impaired people: you get to touch the sculptures! (There is something to be glad about with our disability lol)
And when visiting, don´t miss on the 3rd floor cafe, the Napoleon´s dessert: one of the most wonderful desserts I have ever eaten in my life!

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I have a special thing for this Church, ever since I was a little girl and each time I go to Paris, I make sure I get there.
Every time I have gone, some part of Notre Dame is being retouched. This time it was the roof, so that will be on our next trip to Paris.
But as un all the monuments we went this time, it was fairly empty, and we had a chance to see it more carefully and take nice pics.
End of November is good to visit Notre Dame also.
(No admission fee into church)

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Address: Ile de la Cité

As I said in the intro, this time we wanted to have a rather romantic and quiet trip.
(I will not add the history of this Palace-or any other place we visit, because you can find it everywhere, on the Internet, travel guides, etc. We rather tell you our experiences and give you a tip or two.

Versailles was recommended to us, and we couldn´t have chosen a better place to do romantic. It is a 45 minute train ride away from Paris (or you can choose a guided tour from Paris) that costs about 5 euros each (can´t remember, sorry). As soon as we got there, we were offered guided ours in many languages and we took one in Spanish. We headed towards the store and met there with our guide. We were the only Spanish speakers, so our guide took his time and we had a chance to see many details and ask as many questions as we wanted. That was great! Our tour included the gardens and the inside of the palace and it took about 2 hours since there was hardly any people. It did not include mini museums inside the palace, such as the King´s bedrooms or the horse carriage museum which cost an additional 5 euros each. When we ended, we took a little train to the "Trianons", which are 3 different small palaces-museums (5 euros admittance) and ended in the small town were we had some soup.
We had planned to walk back to the main palace, but it was a bit too cold for me, so we took the train back and headed back to Paris.
It will be worth it to bring an all day museum pass to Versailles if you want to see al museums.

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Personal tips:
*If you are very interested and have the time to visit all the little palaces around Versailles, buy a museum pass that will save you the 5 euros to go into each of them.
*Visiting during off-season (November in our case) will allow you to enjoy all the details of the palace. But keep in mind that there are no flowers in the garden (you don´t have to pay to visit them either), and all the statues are covered. It also gets rather cold after sundown.
Still, it is a great time to go, because you will avoid the long lines and be able to watch and look as long as you want.
*Versailles is a bit more expensive than Paris; we paid 4 euros for a cup of tea, so bring snacks and beverages if you come on a low budget.

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