Versailles

Tour is over!

6/25

Our official Rick Steves tour is done, but we are not! After approximately 180 miles of  walking, you would have thought we would have had enough ...but NO!  On to Versailles to stroll around the massive palace and beautiful gardens.  We started the day with a taxi ride to the palace and got there before it opened.  We stood in the long line for about 20 minutes, before finding out that since we had booked a “behind the doors” kind of tour, we just had to enter a side door that didn’t have a line at all!  

After doing our small group tour that took us through less travelled rooms, and taught us mostly about Louis XV and Louis XVI, we joined the masses (and I mean masses) on the regular tour.  (As an aside, it was mostly Louis XIV that built Versailles and it was Louis XVI who lost his head during the French Revolution).

While I absolutely loved the beauty of the hall of mirrors, I had had enough of the crowds and we pushed our way out to the gardens, where we enjoyed lunch at a restaurant hidden in the trees. Even though Christine had been to Versailles before, we visited many parts of the gardens that she had never seen. Also, because we were gluttons for punishment and walking had become our favorite pastime - and because the lady at the ticket booth for the little "train"/shuttle pulled down her window shade in our faces - we made our way on foot to the Trianon palaces that were on the far side of the grounds (we kept laughing about that lady). If you ever go to Versailles, I highly recommend the Grand Trianon, even though the Petit Trianon is better known because Marie Antoinette lived there.  After enjoying a few more fountains and some beautiful background music, we made our way back to and out of the palace.  We then navigated our way to the train station (I hope Christine posts the train station pic because it was cool).  Dimitri would have been proud of us navigating our way back to our metro stop in Paris!   Another good day to end our European trip together!   

First look at Versailles 

Waiting for our tour in a side room. The silhouettes are the kings and queens who ruled France from Versailles.

Ready for one last guided tour! 

Louis XVI met with Benjamin Franklin in this room. 

A king's bathroom! 

I wonder if the king needed this sign to find it, the palace was so big.  

We were on a private tour of the rooms used by kings Louis XV and XVI. Behind this beautiful wood door were the masses of tourists who entered thru the main door. 

The Hall of Mirrors in the Palace of Versailles. 

View of main row of fountains from the palace.  Other than this, there were so many groves and fountains hidden all over the grounds. They were also playing music by some of the big fountains today.

It was a drizzly day but we didn’t let it stop our fun. This is Christine's favorite fountain of Apollo driving his chariot.

Ready to be seated for tea with royalty in the Grand Trianon.

Marie Antoinette’s bedroom at the Petit Trianon.

A series of 3 fountains designed by Louis XIV.

Cool shell fountain. 

We loved this fountain. The original statues are in the Louvre since they were deteriorating out in the open and under salt water. 

My attempt at being artistic. 

Exploring the garden's byways.

What is this guy doing? 

Last look at Versailles from the gardens. We loved all the statues!  This one seems as tired of walking as we were. 

We found the train station for our ride back to Paris.

The ceiling inside the train capped off the whole experience.

Last dinner of this European trip!  We had a great time and already booked a trip to Greece together next May!!! 

- Mary