Versailles
Woke up at 7:30am to a light sprinkling. As per my mother's suggestion, we bought lunch before going to Versailles. Stopped by the local market for salami and cassis cookies and the boulangerie for a loaf of fresh brioche.
Took the replacement bus, again, to the RER station where we were running with the morning's business people to catch the Versailles train. Made it! We arrived in Versailles around 9:30am and there was a long teeming line of tourists lined up into the middle of the courtyard. We stepped right in. The line moved fairly quickly. Unfortunately, the girl in front of us in line didn't know that this was the line for ticket holders so she had to go to the line across the courtyard to buy tickets. ugh!
Inside the chateau: Since we were there during high tourist season, every room was crammed with different guides with their groups. Some of these tour groups are very hi-tech! There was one group where each person had their own earpiece and their guide spoke into a device that transmitted his voice to their earpieces. We also saw a woman tour guide of European descent speaking perfect Chinese! We got the audio guide but, of course, it didn't cover the rooms where they provided guided tours. Once we left the more popular rooms, the crowd thinned out quickly (read - no tour groups). One cool area was the long gallery lined with 33 murals of important French battles.
After our walk through the chateau, it was time to look for a restroom. Avoiding the restrooms in/near the chateau, we walked to the cafe in the gardens. There was already a huge line there for the ladies room when I got there, and it was moving very very slowly. So we decided to walk further out towards the Grand Canal. No wait! I got there right on time because by the time I got out of the restroom, there was a small line forming. :p
We ate lunch next to the Grand Canal "docks". Such a simple yet delicious meal of salami sandwiches. :) While we ate, we spotted gigantic fish swimming underneath the boats. It was such an idyllic scene with people paddling on the water and the green landscaping that surrounds the canal. After lunch, we rented bikes to go around the gardens. We didn't know it at the time of rental but bikes are not allowed to go into the gardens, only the outskirts. (At least the property is large enough for us to bike around.) We saw one group of tourists trying to teach one of the girls how to ride a bike - not a good place to pick that up! Other tourists were watching the lesson, kind of embarrassing for the girl.
In the afternoon, we visited the Grand and Petit Trianons. The Petit Trianon was definitely the more interesting one since that's the one that Marie Antoinette influenced the most. She had a hamlet built for herself and her kids. It had a Disneyland-like feel to it. It was her own little village to rule. The gardens were very different (read - very English) compared to the usual French chateau gardens. We also got to see her personal theater. Can you imagine owning your own theater??? Sort of like in the Sound of Music but with its own building.
Got gelato from a guy who was very proud of his gelato. White peach - yum! :)
So pooped from walking the entire day. We had eschewed the tram that takes you around Versailles - the wait was too long plus it cost 3.5 euros each.
Took the replacement bus, again, to the RER station where we were running with the morning's business people to catch the Versailles train. Made it! We arrived in Versailles around 9:30am and there was a long teeming line of tourists lined up into the middle of the courtyard. We stepped right in. The line moved fairly quickly. Unfortunately, the girl in front of us in line didn't know that this was the line for ticket holders so she had to go to the line across the courtyard to buy tickets. ugh!
Inside the chateau: Since we were there during high tourist season, every room was crammed with different guides with their groups. Some of these tour groups are very hi-tech! There was one group where each person had their own earpiece and their guide spoke into a device that transmitted his voice to their earpieces. We also saw a woman tour guide of European descent speaking perfect Chinese! We got the audio guide but, of course, it didn't cover the rooms where they provided guided tours. Once we left the more popular rooms, the crowd thinned out quickly (read - no tour groups). One cool area was the long gallery lined with 33 murals of important French battles.
After our walk through the chateau, it was time to look for a restroom. Avoiding the restrooms in/near the chateau, we walked to the cafe in the gardens. There was already a huge line there for the ladies room when I got there, and it was moving very very slowly. So we decided to walk further out towards the Grand Canal. No wait! I got there right on time because by the time I got out of the restroom, there was a small line forming. :p
We ate lunch next to the Grand Canal "docks". Such a simple yet delicious meal of salami sandwiches. :) While we ate, we spotted gigantic fish swimming underneath the boats. It was such an idyllic scene with people paddling on the water and the green landscaping that surrounds the canal. After lunch, we rented bikes to go around the gardens. We didn't know it at the time of rental but bikes are not allowed to go into the gardens, only the outskirts. (At least the property is large enough for us to bike around.) We saw one group of tourists trying to teach one of the girls how to ride a bike - not a good place to pick that up! Other tourists were watching the lesson, kind of embarrassing for the girl.
In the afternoon, we visited the Grand and Petit Trianons. The Petit Trianon was definitely the more interesting one since that's the one that Marie Antoinette influenced the most. She had a hamlet built for herself and her kids. It had a Disneyland-like feel to it. It was her own little village to rule. The gardens were very different (read - very English) compared to the usual French chateau gardens. We also got to see her personal theater. Can you imagine owning your own theater??? Sort of like in the Sound of Music but with its own building.
Got gelato from a guy who was very proud of his gelato. White peach - yum! :)
So pooped from walking the entire day. We had eschewed the tram that takes you around Versailles - the wait was too long plus it cost 3.5 euros each.
posted by pc at
9:11 PM
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