On our final day in Paris, we actually got out of the city and did a tour of the Versailles Palace and its gardens. Our regular readers may remember that our last visit to Versailles was March 2018 and we were incredibly cold touring the gardens. This time, the opposite was the case, it was a very warm day, but we mostly managed to stay cool in the shade.
The tour was a bike tour of the gardens, which is a really great way to see them since they are huge (about 2,000 acres or over 3 square miles). We started by meeting our group in Paris and taking the train to Versailles, followed by a self-guided tour of the Chateau. Although we are mostly over the giant European castles with their endless rooms, we have to admit that the hall of mirrors is impressive:
In addition,this porcelain column, known as the Austerlitz column, was commissioned by Napolean to commemorate his military victories, and provided a bit of a change from the constant paintings of mythology and royalty:
After our visit to the Chateau, we went to a local market to buy food (and, of course, wine) for the picnic we would have in the gardens. After getting our bikes we headed out through the city (a bit intense) and then the gardens (much more relaxed) until we found a shady spot for lunch. After eating and a bit of history of the Chateau and the series of kings who built it, we continued on to a couple of areas we had not seen before since they were too far from the Chateau to walk. We saw the Grand Trianon, a smaller palace built by Louis XIV so he could escape the hustle and bustle of his main palace; and the Petit Trianon, another smaller castle developed by Louis XV for the use of his mistress, but later given by Louis XVI to his queen, Marie Antoinette, for her exclusive use.
Even more interesting were the series of buildings known as the Queen's Hamlet. Built for Marie Antoinette, they represented a simpler, more rustic way of life, and include a farm and other buildings built in a style used in the Normandie area of France. This area seemed almost like a Disneyland for the royal set, and was very quaint:
After finishing the tour, we took the relatively short, but now very warm train ride from Versailles back to Paris. Once everone had a chance to shower, we went to dinner at L'As du Fallafel, which was fantastic as always. Then, walking through the city, Debbie caputred this great panoramic photo of the Hotel d'Ville -- Paris's City Hall:
Finally, we did something very touristy, but very Paris, a one-hour tour of the city by boat. We have always seen these boats going up and down the Seine through the city, but had never taken one. It turned out to be fun as we saw many of the sights of Paris from a different viewpoint, including the Eiffel Tower:
What was really amazing was that on the Wednesday night that we did the boat tour, thousands of Parisiens were hanging out with friends on the edge of the river, eating and drinking or just sitting and talking. A really interesting cultural phenomenon.
In any event, we once again had a great time in Paris. A place that we still feel we can return to again and again. Who is up to meeting us next??
Au revoir,
Jeff and Shana
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