Tuesday 10 April 2012

Sunday in . . .Versailles!

Erica and Bobby were keen to head back to Germany relatively early, and seeing as Versailles was on their way, we decided that would be a fantastic use of our Sunday**. I've never been to Versailles before, so despite the rain, was keen to go.

First things, first, however, and we decided that sustenance was in order prior to beginning our tour of the Palace. Fortunately, a stone's throw from the famous front gates, was what turned out to be a lovely little creperie.  €13 bought a savoury crepe (or galette), a sweet crepe and a glass of cider. The crepes were enormous, made fresh to order, and just what we needed to set us up for an afternoon of sightseeing.

From there it was off to the palace! Since it was raining, Stephen and I decided to focus on the interior of the palace itself. It also had the advantage of being a rather "slow" day in terms of tourist numbers - granted it was still very busy, but much less so than usual. It was nice to be able to meander about fairly freely and not get caught up in too many large groups.

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The organ in the chapel

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a servant's staircase

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guy with floppy hat (loved the hat)

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This way? (No, that way!)

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a brief lull in the rain

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One of the things we enjoyed most, were some of the more "normal" people tucked into various corners of the many murals.

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You! Put that back!

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Reflections in the famous hall of mirrors

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Marie Antoinette's bedroom

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hall of emperors

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a grander staircase

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a chair in the King's study

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still raining

Despite the rain, we then decided to take a turn in the gardens. Most of the statuary was still covered up from winter and only a handful of bulbs was poking through, but still I could start to see the resemblance to some of the grander palaces I saw in Russia (namely Peterhof & the Hermitage)

A quick cup of tea in one of the former gardener's quarters, it was time to say good-bye to Bobby & Erica and head back into Paris ourselves to fetch our bags/return the keys to the apartment.

And so another weekend in Paris came to an end, but what a wonderful weekend! It was great to revisit some of our favourite places and rediscover them with Nathan afresh as well as see some new and different sites. Not sure yet when we'll go back, but I'm hoping not too long after Stephen's exams are over. In the meantime, plenty more memories to keep us company!





** usually we try and attend the afternoon organ concert at Notre Dame

1 comment:

  1. Hi Chaundra and Stephen. Thanks for letting me "come along" with you on the trip to Versailles. Lovely shots, too bad you had such a crappy weather.

    //Sven

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