Versailles

We changed up our usual breakfast routine today to try out Dupont Café, a restaurant just down the street from where we are staying. We both had a ham, egg, and cheese crepe, which came with a side salad. For us, it was an unusual side choice for breakfast, but it was all very good. 

Our next stop was Versailles, a half an hour train ride south-west of Paris. Getting there was pretty straight forward, but when we got there, we quickly realized how many other people had the same plan as us. What we didn't realize when we booked our tickets, was that all of the museums in Paris are closed on Tuesdays, and therefore other popular locations such as Versailles become even busier. This picture doesn't really do it justice, as were still pretty far away from the gates, but the line up just to get through palace security was over two hours. 

We were told that the lineup tends to die down later in the day, so instead of waiting in the sun for two hours, we went to the Gardens of Versailles first, which had virtually no line at all. 

The gardens are truly something to behold. Originally landscaped throughout the second half of the 1600s, it paralleled the expansion of the palace throughout the reign of Louis XIV, and now covers about 800 hectares in total. 

We spent a few hours walking through the gardens, trying to stay in the shade as much as possible, as it was another incredibly hot day. 

 

For lunch, we found La Flottile, a cafe in the gardens, located beside the Grand Canal, a 1.7 km long man-made waterway that would be sailed on in summer, and skated on in winter. 

 

Nearly every cafe has free wifi here, so this gave us a chance to look up some history about the rise and fall of Louis XIV and Versailles, while we enjoyed a delicious Roma pizza with chorizo, peppers and mushrooms and a mixed salad. The beer and wine weren't hard to choke down either. Did we mention it was hot?

We decided to brave the line to get into the palace, and while it still looked daunting, we were told it would take no more than an hour. It actually turned out to only be around 40 minutes, which was a nice surprise. 

The palace is a pretty marvellous spectacle. There is little wonder why the revolution began, when commoners were begging for bread in the streets and the palace alone consumed up to 25% of the entire French government's income. 

The palace was packed with people, and we felt like we were being herded along like sheep. There really weren't too many opportunities to capture any decent pictures inside, unless you pointed the camera upwards to avoid the throngs of people. It was also warm and humid as well. All that wealth, and Louis couldn't even put in a little AC.

We're glad to have experienced Versailles, but I can't see us ever going back if we find ourselves in France again someday. 

We returned to the apartment for dinner with the Poulain family as well as two of Nathalie's brothers, who both spoke English very well. Roasted chicken, ratatouille, bakery fresh bread (still warm!), cheese, homemade sorbet and French cookies were on the menu tonight. It will be difficult to go back to Canada and not expect a fresh baguette on the table with every meal. 

Tomorrow, we're heading back towards La Vallée to have lunch with Nathalie's sister, Caroline and her family. Then, we are returning to Paris, as we have a dinner date on the second level of the Eiffel Tower. No big deal!