Day ?, Saturday, April 16...

Forget which day this is in the scheme of this trip...have to get more sleep.  Aha, it is Day 10

Marilyn left this morning, Sunday, but I am about to tell you the story of our visit to Versailles.  For some reason I had the notion that Versailles was way over the top and unbelievably glitzy.  It does have some gold and gilded bronze here and there but it is a beautiful place.

We decided to take a new route from our hotel to the RER station and found lots of lovely things to look at on the way.

Isn't that lovely bark?

The flower stalls were already up and running...

Aren't these flowers just so lovely...they smelt as good as they look too.

Eggs and bunnies are very prolific here right now....so many chocolate shops...

We left from the Musee d'Orsay stop and on the train out of Paris, we met some Californians who are in the computer world of the Bay Area and the trip went by quickly.  In the group of Californians there was a young son who said he could help me with my camera problems.  He gave me a couple quick tips and I do think it improved my shots.

We got off at the town of Versailles, walked a few blocks, turned a corner and voila!  There it was...

As we went through the day, though, I had the strange feeling that we were out of place.  It seemed that if I were to blink I would see ladies with long, lovely gowns and men in fancy pants and tight hose.  There should be soft string music playing and soft chatter of the court gossips and ministers of government.  It just seemed that we were interlopers, in the wrong place, and in the wrong time.

I did have a pre-conceived notion that Versailles was way-over-the-top but it really isn't.  This place is quite lovely.

Well, maybe that is a little heavy for Mayne Island but it is so exquisite you cannot help but admire.

Thought I would just throw that in to show the crowds we had to plough through.  We tried to stay ahead of or get around large groups.  Marilyn was ahead of me in this room, motioning for me so I moved ahead so I could hear the lady talk...Marilyn whispered, no, don't join them...let's get ahead of them...it was a bit of a squeeze in most rooms.

The famous Hall of Mirrors was a surprise to me.  From all the photos I have seen I thought the room would be huge.  But it was not an overly large room...just very glamourous, very chi chi.

Caught a glimpse of the gardens through an open window of the palace.

By now you all know I have a major weakness for these floors...

The flower gardens are somewhat formal for me but very nice.  Before the day was over they had turned on all the water fountains.  You could see why the water landscapes were considered such a marvel back in the 18th century.

The gardens cover so many acres that we rented a golf cart and made our way around and out to Petit Trianon and Grand Trianon.  Petit Trianon was a smallish house Marie Antoinette had for her own pleasure where she could get away from all the court.

Photo above is Petit Trianon...a perfect get-away.

And next door Louis had the Grand Trianon to house his mistress, Madam Popidor (sp?).  By this time we were tired and in need of food so we opted for a snack over visiting the Grand Trianon.  We were a little miffed at Louis for stashing his mistress so close to Marie...I mean, really!!!

Take a look at our snack.  It is a baked potato with creme fraiche...oh, so good!

And we bought a drink that tasted very much like that drink, Sherwin, that we used to love at PUC.  So it was a perfect snack and made us more mellow to Louis!

It was another day of hundreds of photos taken (494) and I will only harass you with a few...just to give you a glimpse.  It is well worth the hordes of people.

The gardens are huge...

The fountains are magnificent!

This is looking back from the Palace level down into the gardens...

And so ended my lovely week with my sister.  Marilyn was sorry to leave this morning but will be home in Calgary about 6:30 Mountain Standard Time.  She was great company and a major help.  We took turns encouraging each other...when one got the droops the other lifted up!  Her French is superior to mine but I asked for the room key in French today without her so I may make it.  I promise, Marilyn, I won't be too friendly to the natives or the strangers.  She was very good to me.  It is lovely when, as adults, you find that you and your sister have the same tastes in many areas of life...Thank you, Marilyn.

Highlight of today, Sunday, was I got to chat to Sherwin and Lorne on Skype for 45 minutes before it cut out.  It was Sherwin's and my first face to face chat since we left Calgary.  Haven't been able to get ichat to work with our Apples but dear old Skype made the day.

Now I will say good night as I wait for Gail Booth to arrive.  She should have landed by now and will be wending her way here.  So I get another exciting week in this beautiful city.  This is so good!!!

Love to all and to all a good day.