So after yesterday's experience with the massive crowds in Paris during the summertime, we woke early to get to Versailles before the hordes… One small problem. The Internet here only works on one device at a time… So the iPhone we've been using as our alarm clock wasn't connected to WiFi which means it didn't automatically adjust to Paris time which means our early start was actually an hour later start… Mon dieu! Sacre bleu! Holy crap, time to get a move on…
To make matters worse, as we're about half way through our decent Holiday Inn breakfast, Marie does the “You know, I don't think breakfast is included in our room rate…” Sure enough, it wasn't… Which means the lovely cup of yogurt, two pastries and some bits of sausage were now costing us €45… Needless to say we took extras for lunch (much to the horror of Caitlin…)
Thoroughly rattled (not really, it just makes for more dramatic story telling – in actuality we were all pretty chill with it… Except me. I hate crowds… But what can you do…) we headed for the bus stop. We navigated the complex maze of subway trains, commuter trains and whatnot with aplomb (thanks to the Internet, all those who have made the trip before us and Caitlin who translated the signs properly). We had to transfer trains twice before we could get on the VICK train to Versailles Rive Gauche… At first we thought it was going to be us and the palace because our first two trains were deserted… Not so with the train to Versailles. It was packed…
Arriving at the Versailles stop… Easy to tell when you're there as it's the end of the line and the train empties… We hustled along the 5-10 minute walk to the actual palace… Only to turn the final corner and see the teeming multitudes arrayed in front of the gates… A reenactment of the March on Versailles? Have the people risen up in arms against the symbols of tyranny and absolutism? No. Just every freaking person in the entire known universe deciding to go to visit the palace… On the one day we decided to go. How inconsiderate of them.
Having read earlier that there was no point in buying tickets ahead of time (good advice by the way, as they make you stand in the same line whether you have tickets or not) so we left Marie in the line to get into the palace while Caitlin and I went to buy tickets. We stood in line for 45 minutes to get them. In that time, Marie had covered about half the distance to the entrance… In all we stood in line for about two hours. So much for beating the crowds… Was it worth it?? Oh yeah… This place is amazing. Awe inspiring. Sumptuous. And spectacularly, unbelievably, epically crowded. But aside from a few of the more intimate rooms, the place is big enough that it literally swallows the crowds and everything moves along nicely… Until the godforsaken tour groups arrive en masse…
The main palace is beyond words. The Hall of Mirrors (where the Treaty of Versailles was signed in 1918) is the epitome of a grand ballroom/great hall/reception room, etc. It is quite simply, awe inspiring. But it was the smaller rooms with their intimate works of art and unique decor that most impressed… After touring the main palace for the better part of 6 hours with nothing to eat but a melted Toblerone chocolate bar and a couple of yogurts that had warmed so much we could drink them (because when you pilfer food from the over priced continential hotel breakfast they don't exactly provide spoons!) we made our way outside to see some of the gardens and the Trianons. Being lazy tourists, we took the little train to the Grand Trianon instead of walking for a half hour in the afternoon sun. Of course we ended up standing in line for almost as long… But we avoided walking and by this point our feet were feeling every one of the gazillion miles we'd walked in London and thus far is Paris.
This was one of our favourite places at Versailles – elegant and grand but more human scaled and intimate. It's easy to see why this place continued to be used as a residence even after the main palace had been turned into a museum. After the Grand Trianon, we hopped back on the train to visit Marie Antoinette's Petit Trianon… Also a wonderful place and Caitlin's favourite. Much less ostentatious than the others and far more quaint, it's worth taking the time to visit. We explored the grounds of her estate a little bit but opted not to visit her hamlet (her attempt at being a farmer) because, quite frankly, we were feeling a little bedraggled after 9 hours… So we hopped back on the train and headed for the Grand Canal. Here we grabbed a bite to eat and drink in La Flotille – surprisingly reasonably priced for being in the heart of the attraction but not exactly gourmet – and took a bit of a break before heading back to the train and Paris.
The ride back to Paris went by quickly (probably because I was concentrating on typing this blog entry – no easy feat on a swaying train). Once back in Paris we headed for the Eiffel Tower to head out on a Seine River boat cruise (included with our hop on hop off bus ticket). Cruise is a bit of an exaggeration given that you're packed onto a purpose-built boat filled with tourists squeezed into uncomfortable chairs and listening to a tinny commentary on a contraption like an oversized TV remote control… But despite all this, it was a great way to spend an hour and an interesting way to see the city – and there was no walking involved!
After the cruise, we headed back to the Eiffel Tower to check the lineups… Still huge! It would appear that climbing the Eiffel tower will not be happening on this trip… So it was back on the train (with a slight detour given that the train we planned to take back to the hotel was Supprime… Which according to our translator app means extinguished…). After a couple of transfers, we were back in the area of our hotel by about 10:30 – very long day… We grabbed a bite to eat/drink from the restaurant/bar/bistro on the corner and called it a night.
Again, the Internet here at the hotel is only 256k (although it is free) so no pictures for this post but I will put up a page of pictures from the last couple of days when I find a faster connection. Au revoir…
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Thirty-four Nights in Europe 