Versailles was absolutely beautiful. It was huge and extraordinarily ornate. We got audio guides and wandered through all the rooms just gaping at the elegance of it all. There were dozens and dozens of rooms in the palace, and all of them were decorated differently and uniquely. My favorite room by far is the most famous on in the palace -- the Hall of Mirrors. It was amazing. It's one long room that has large windows looking out to the gardens lining one side and large mirrors lining the other side. The whole ceiling is painted and dozens of large chandeliers hang down from the ceiling stretching across the whole length of the room. 
We also walked down to Marie Antoinette's estate, which was also very beautiful. She had good taste in decorations! We grabbed lunch in a restaurant by the Palace gardens and then did a little shopping in the town. After we caught the train back to the city we tried to go to the Museu D'Orsay but there was too long of a line. Instead we headed back down to the Arc de Triomphe to get a closer look at it when it was opened. We walked down the Champs Elysees and took the underground tunnel to the Arc (though running across the roundabout again was tempting). We got a look at the eternal flame and walked through the Arc.
We went back to the hostel, grabbed our stuff and a quick dinner of crepes au fraise and gelato (I know really healthy, but delectable!). Then we went to the train station to catch an overnight train to Madrid. The train was pretty nice, but sleeping on it was not the most comfortable experience. But we left as the gold-pink sun was setting on Paris and rode on through the countryside until we hit Spain around daybreak. It was fun to see the sun rise over the Spanish countryside -- it was really incredible.We checked into the hotel in Madrid right after we arrived, and it was a really nice place right in the center of everything. The bad thing about Spain is they don't let you take photos inside any of the cathedrals or museums -- so I won't have any from inside of buildings, just outside. We headed to where the Palacio Real de Madrid is and got in line for that. It was gorgeous inside. Just as ornate as Versailles was. I really like the dining hall with a ballroom attached where the royalty held balls. There was also a section filled with all the old armor they used to wear -- that was really neat. After that we went to a restaurant called Inshala, which was recommended in Andy's Europe travel book. It was delicious!! We had Paella (I ate it all, except the shrimp that still had eyes. I can't eat things with eyes.) and then a huge lemon chicken (I swear it was one whole chicken between the two of us) and then we even had a really good chocolate cake for dessert. And it was all very, very delicious and only 12 euro for all that food!!
After that we hit up the Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza and the Museo National de Prado. Both were really nice, but after a point you get a little tired of so much art, especially because most of it is religious. All the paintings of the Virgin Mary, Jesus, etc. are amazingly beautiful -- but can get a little old after a while. After the museums we walked through the Real Jardin Botanico. It was really nice! Most of the flowers weren't in bloom yet, but there were lots of pretty red tulips and it was very green. After that we went to get tapas at another restaurant the book suggested, but the route we took to get there made me feel a little uncomfortable. It was very well lit or populated and there was a lot of graffiti. To get to the restaurant we had to go to an apartment-looking building and take the elevator up. The restaurant was OK and the tapas weren't bad, but I wasn't in the best mood because of the walk. After we ate we took the metro back to the hotel and went to bed.
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