Day 5 - Bonjour to Paris and Geneva- Chateau de Versailles

July 2015

Minigan's Travels -Summer 2015

Bonjour to Paris and Geneva!
Day 5 - Chateau de Versailles

Looking up at the palace from the gardens.

Day Five

THE CHATEAU OF VERSAILLES.   I wasn’t sure what to expect.  I knew it was a palace and I knew it was in Versailles.  Other than that, I had no idea. 

First, to get to the right train station.

We had asked at our hotel for the easiest route so we were at least headed in the right direction.  We took the Metro to the train station.  Once we arrived at the train station we weren’t exactly sure what we were doing, but we got in a line outside of the station. We could see there were a couple lines inside also so Jim and Jaimey  stayed in the outside line while I went to find out what the other lines were for.  The lines inside were for cash or people with tickets already.  Jim had made the smart decision to get in the line outside.   

While I was  inside, Jim had been talking with the two ladies in line behind us.  Mother and daughter from Chicago that were traveling for the mom’s 60^th birthday. Had a great conversation with them while we were waiting for our turn to buy tickets.  Very delightful people!

We made it up to the ticket machine, bought our tickets and went inside to board the train.  We were immediately told to hurry down the steps and board the train as it was leaving in one minute.  

We made it!  It was about a 30 minute ride to Versaille.  Very uneventful.  Although we had no idea where we were going, when we got off the train all we had to do was follow the people. Tons of people! We had to go down the street just for a bit and then turn down a beautiful tree lined avenue to get to the palace.

 

Wow!  Wow! Wow!

Louise XIV had it transformed from it’s original purpose as a hunting lodge to this massive palace where the government would be housed.  There is so much history in this area.

 Marie Antionette’s estate.  She was the only Queen allowed to show her personal flavor at the palace.  She created an estate of her own to “escape from the rigors of court etiquette”.  Her “hamlet” was gorgeous.  4 or 5 buildings with vegetable gardens surrounding all.  In current terminology......  "Where she went to get her Zen on".

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The Gardens surrounding the palace were.  stunning…………..  and there were cats (French cats of course) running freely.

 

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The rooms in the palace were amazing.  For example, The Hall of Mirrors.  Mirrors were a luxury at this point so having an entire Hall filled with mirrors was quite impressive.  The Hall of Chandeliers......  impressive!

There was so much beauty and artwork throughout the entire estate.  Both inside and out.  

We walked for about 5 ½ hours and were absolutely exhausted at the end of the day.  We had the honor of experiencing rush hour on the Metro.  Absolute zoo.  Had to actually “crunch” on.  Not very enjoyable but still a fun experience.   

Home for a very short rest, then off to dinner.

 

We had scoped out choices for dinner on our way back to the hotel from Versailles and decided upon Gregoire's.  Very nice restaurant serving a 3 course dinner.   Everything was wonderful. Steak was a little chewy but the flavor was excellent.  We continue to practice our French on the waiters.  I felt sorry for them having to try to understand what we were saying!  Fun place though. 

I’ve decided that one of my favorite things in France is sitting in a restaurant with open windows and watching the world go by…… with a glass of wine of course.  People, bicycles, scooters, etc….   It makes me feel alive...

After dinner, well ……….  It’s laundry time.  We want to have as much done as possible before we head to Switzerland tomorrow. 

Bonne Nuit!