Europe – Day 4

I always felt I belonged in a palace, and today I found my “advantageous situation”.

Of course it was originally built and lived in by Louis XIV, XV, and the unfortunate XVI. Versailles, the magnificent.

We got there easily and surprisingly cheaply, by rapid transit.  A few notes on the Paris Metro.

It’s fabulous.  When we disembark our car at our suburban stop, there’s another train pulling in before we’ve reached the exit.  They are frequent, comfortable, and very clean.  They run from 5:30 am to 1:00 am (2 am on Saturday/Sundays) It’s easy to negotiate (I figured out our route all by my little self), and all myths of the aloof Parisians aside, someone always offers me a seat*.  And today I spoke my high-school French to a ticket vendor AND HE UNDERSTOOD WHAT I WAS SAYING.  Plus from time to time a busker will get on your car and it’s fun and funny.

Back to Versailles.  Like all of Paris during this time of year, it was incredibly crowded.  But also majestic.  And surprisingly tasteful.

Sure, the decor was OTT, but you could tell that the persons responsible had great taste.  The rooms are laid out in a row, with no hallway, so they all open onto the next.  And the doorways lined up so you could look at a red doorway within a blue doorway within a green doorway, etc.

But there’s nothing I could add about Versailles that hasn’t been written in many books (and at least one TV series).

We saw a lot of stuff, then stood in line for a table at Angelina’s restaurant, had a faboo meal, then saw some more stuff.  By then it was after 4 pm.  We thought about seeing Petit Trianon, but we didn’t have tickets to the gardens, which were closing soon, and the alternate route to the Trianon was a 40 minute walk outside and around.  And it was raining.  So we decided to bid adieu to this Palace and get back to town.

We stopped at a Pharmacie to get something to relieve my aching feet (BTW, you will walk more than you ever have in your life, presuming you were never in the military) and of course the gentleman behind the counter put up with my cochon-francais and was able to help us out.

Then dinner.  Then planning tomorrow.  Then rest.  Another perfect day!

*I know there’s a reputation that the Parisians have for being standoffish and rude.  But everyone we meet is lovely and polite and helpful.  No one laughs at my terrible French, people go out of their way to show us how to do things, and my dear, there’s NO tipping!