Tuesday (Versailles)…

 





 
Morning coffee fought off the effects of morning drizzle as we strolled to the chateau for our morning tour. Smart move, Jeffrey, buying guided tour tickets in advance. Looking at the regular line snaking back and forth across the grand court…insane!!  

We are convinced that Versailles is cursed. With a few minutes to kill before our tour, we headed towards the gardens for a quick stroll. Drizzle turned to a downpour just before we reached the entrance. We retreated to a cozy underpass with a hundred of our closest (wet) friends. 

Headed over to our guided skip-the-line tour. A quiet-spoken French woman led us through the private apartments of the King. (Spanning Louis XIV, XV, and XVI.) This was an entirely new part of the chateau for us, and well worth the wait. This set of rooms felt impressive and ornate, and yet intimate. Luxury in a rather modern way which seemed more liveable. You could picture the Kings spending their downtime here, versus the rigid formality of the grand state rooms. Here, we saw the king’s bedroom where he actually slept; not to be confused with the state bedroom where he had his morning rising ceremony. Impressive highlights included a large clock still in perfect order and keeing time, date, and astrological time; an impressive and famous desk designed to safeguard state secrets with the quarter turn of a key; a large library keeping the King’s private collection of books; and dining room and games room where Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette entertained their young circle of friends. The tour ended in the chateau’s grand opera house, an engineering and acoustic marvel made entirely of wood but painted to mimic marble and bronze. You could picture Marie Antoinette sitting in her private box engrossed in a sumptuous performance. 

Leaving our tour, we joined the masses in a slow march through the state rooms. Truly magnificent sights like the Hall of Mirrors and the King and Queens state apartments…their grandeur still-visible above the oblivious visitors and their endless selfies. 

Famished from fighting back the Huns, we sat down at quiet Angelina restaurant inside the chateau for a Parisienne club sandwich, two mouth-watering pastries, and much needed iced coffee. The signature Le Mont-Blanc is a chocolatey delight. The cheesecake citron is smooth and tangy. Oddly the sandwich never arrived. The day moves on. 

Finally, we ventured back into the gardens…and yes, it started to rain again. Umbrellas up. Puddles reflected the dramatic clouds. Look…a rainbow arched over the chateau. Umbrellas down. We chased the occasional sunbeam lighting up the chateau against a dark sky. The orangerie was open for a quick peek at rows of carefully tended citrus and palm trees. A lonely musical fountain tucked away down muddy paths put on a final performance just in time for us to enjoy. 

After a long day (and the mysteriously disappearing sandwich) we left the chateau and headed to a nearby creperie. Two wonderfully savory galettes, wonderful wine, and two sumptuous crepes. A late evening stroll through the Notre Dame neighborhood, followed by later evening drinks at Coup D’état.