I had planned on going to the Museum d’Orsay today but I looked at the website for the Chateau of Versailles and discovered that today and Saturday they were offering special tours and the gardens would have a fountain show. Therefore I decided to go visit Versailles instead and truly enjoyed the tours. However, I walked another 11.88 miles today so my feet are killing me. The most exciting part other than the hall of mirrors was being able to view the opera house and the kings apartments. Those were not open to the public unless they purchased the separate guided tour tickets. I was a little disappointed that all of the fountains were not running but completely understand why they wouldn’t be. I got lost in the Petite and Grand Trianon groves and mazes. Truly spectacular and could easily spend 2 or 3 days to fully appreciate the grounds. However with my time limited in Paris I had to rush through as many as I could. The challenge was keeping ahead of the weather; I lucked out and was on the guided tours of the kings apartments when it rained early in the afternoon. The paths were somewhat muddy but worth the trek to Maria Antoinette’s Estate. I had to hire a taxi driver to Versailles as the SCNF (train from Paris) is currently on strike. As it turned out, as soon as I got into the taxi to return to Paris it started to sleet. It was a mixed day of weather, some rain, more sunshine than what I have experienced so far in Paris and a huge ugly storm at the end of the day. All worth while to see the extravagance of the 17th and 18th centuries. Ended my day by taking a very short respite to recover my feet and then headed to La Petite Gorille for dinner. Food and service was excellent, I had pistachio creme brûlée which was magnificent. Looking forward to a little less walking tomorrow.
talesbytess.com 