Day 4: Saturday: Versailles

At 1:30 we reported to the hotel outdoor café to wait for transportation to Versailles. Ann Marie, Richard, and Lloyd are enjoying the clear weather with temperatures in the mid-70s that we enjoyed during most of our visit. It was warm enough to warrant Richard removing the zip-off sleeves of his jacket of many pockets.

The drive to Versailles, a suburb of Paris, passed by some nice apartment buildings. Someone asked the rental rates in the area. The driver gave no numbers but indicated that those particular buildings were social housing -- projects.

What crowds at Versailles!  A beautiful sunny day, and Parisiens and visitors alike thronged to the palace. Why our intrepid travel agent signed us up for a tour on a Saturday is beyond me, but there we were, elbow to elbow with the other visitors.

Renovation is on-going at the palace and is very evident in the new giltwork on the great fence/gate and exterior of the building.

Audio guides were included with our entrance ticket, but after listening to three or four of the blurbs, I gave it up and joined the individual visitors threading their way among the clusters of French, German, Japanese visitors with their guides, who pretty much clogged up the corridors and blocked whole sections of rooms.

I visited Versailles about 40 years ago and was awed by the ambience and the grandeur of the palace. This time, not so much. There was a temporary exhibit of thrones scattered throughout, which detracted from the overall feel of the place. The Hall of Mirrors, for example, I remembered as a large room with magnificent floor-to-ceiling mirrors reflecting the beautiful gardens and fountains seen through the floor-to-ceiling windows. With large exhibit cases holding the thrones along the center blocking the long view of the room, and throngs of visitors flowing around them and clogging movement periodically to listen to the guides, the grandeur was diminished considerably.

Here are two of the thrones that were on display. The first belonged to an African king and the second was the throne of Napoleon Bonaparte. Each is beautiful in its own way.

Here is a view of the bedroom of Marie Antoinette, reflected in floor-to-ceiling mirrors. It was the only way to get a photo of the room without including several visitors.

A few details caught my eye. A footstool, a lock, an elegant medalion, the beautiful grain of marble.

The gardens at Versailles are grand, indeed. We saw a bridal party taking photos, and a young member of our party posed by one of the fountains. There were large, rusty installations several places in the gardens. To me, they look like the ribs of Babe the Blue Ox. I later learned that they are the sculptures of Bernar Venet, on exhibit until November 2011.

In the evening we walked a few blocks from the hotel to the Galeries Lafayette, a branch of Paris's world-renowned department store, but didn't buy anything. We stopped for dinner at Le Petit Sommelier restaurant. Our meals were delicious. Ann Marie, Richard and I ordered dessert and were not disappointed.

Ann Marie opted for chocolate.

 Richard chose cheesecake.

And I chose my favorite, creme brulee. (Lloyd abstained.)

All in all, it was a lovely, sunny day --- nice for our first excursions in Paris.