Versailles

SATURDAY — SAMEDI

With Versailles on the schedule, we knew that we had to get going early with very little lingering.  The dead would have to wait another day for our return visit.  We made our first stop at Chaize, of course and had deux cappuchinos sur place (at the cafe) and took two more à emporter (to go).  We also had croissants.  Those are stupid good.

Deciding to get familiar with the Metro system, we enjoyed riding to our meet up with our connection for the tour.   Given how bad our Notre Dame tour went, we were concerned that this would also be badly run but instead we were greeted by a friendly young ex-pat American named Barrick, originally from Colorado Springs, but now married to a French girl and living and working in Paris.  He was our transit guide and, with our small group of seven or eight, we boarded a train and he accompanied us to the Versailles stop and walked us to meet with our tour guide Erell where he handed us off and departed.  As soon as we arrived, though, we thought this day would be another bust as apparently some French electricians union or something to do with electricity had occurred and the palace was closed for the moment.  So Erell offered us a few options for cancellation but we all followed her like baby ducks and we had a fantastic stroll through the palace gardens.

Back shot of Errol, the guide and her flag around which we rallied.

One of the insanely complex and beautiful fountains. Versailles in the BG. This was all mostly just for fancy folks to wander around and enjoy.

Just a place to set your wine glass when you take a hit of snuff or start a war.

There is no good way to express the level of marveling one does in the presence of such grandeur, such anciens regime splendor, except to say, “Wow.”  Louis XIV decided at some point in his long reign to move the palace of the king to this area which had been previously known as Le Marais Puant or The Stinky Swamp.  Previously a place for the royals to go hunting, Louis decided to move the whole kit and kaboodle out there and proceeded to have built a magnificent palace and gardens the size and space and quality of which are impossible to describe in a blog post. Subsequent kings added to the place until the French people got tired of the monarchy and started lopping off heads.  Napolean kiind of got the hint and started making everything open for tourists.  But most of the original decorations exist (the furniture and such was all auctioned off circa 1789) so you might as well call it Gobsmack Acres.

I see an empty spot, right up there in the corner. Maybe some gold leaf.

Can you see the family resemblance? Weirdly this is called the Hall of Modesty.

Get my best side.

You gotta leave your horses by the gate.

Fortunately for our little three hour tour, as soon as we were wrapping up the garden tour, some agreement was made by some worker’s union or someone was able to get the electricity turned on and the thousands of folks who decided to go to Versailles that day were suddenly allowed in.  Luckily, with our small group pass we were able to skip the long line of hoi polloi, give ‘em all the regal hand wave and head into the palace itself.  Again, you have to see it for yourself.  Suffice it to say that the walls have mirrors and huge windows, the ceilings are covered in gold leaf and vast paintings, the floors are royal parquet and except for the fact that we were moving cattle-like with the rest of the mumbling herd, some of whom held cameras aloft for pictures and videos, we were kept enthralled by the voice of Erell in our ears thanks to the tour gadgets around our necks attached to ear buds so that she could reach us even though we could only see her little flag somewhere ahead, which we tracked through the palace.

At the end of the tour — which was worth every cent and fantastic — Kathy and I decided to take one more walk through the palace and enjoyed renewed views due to the fact that most everyone had done their lap through the place and headed for the exits.  The palace and gardens at Versailles could stand to be visited several times and still not be a complete experience.

Afterward we wandered into the town of Versailles and located a wine bar where we ordered some bordeaux and a tapa.  Unfortunately, my French being still limited to bonjour and “Hunh?” the toussaine (sic?) turned out to be some sliced baguette, a bowl of small pickles and an open jar of some kind of fancy Spam pig liver goop which is probably a specialty for the French who eat it from childhood but which continued to haunt me from Versailles all the way back to Paris. (see above)

However this gastrointestinal distress was relieved by a trip to a bistro close to our apartment where we tucked into a nice bottle of wine and some proper meals of salmon and steak. We also decided to have dessert — the waitress laughing when I tried to pronounce it “Dess - aire” when the word dessert in French is, dessert — which was excellent chocolate lava cake.   After which we headed home for a nightcap and bed.

Just another, yeah, room.

French design of gardens with the shapes and topiary and the opposite wall and where we are standing is above the "Winter Garden" where they keep the moveable plants until spring.