People in Paris know not to drive in the city. After our bad experience on the subway the day before, though, we decided to make the three hour drive because we would at least be comfortable in our own car (rather than being stuck in a train station). It was a long drive, but we made it safely and were able to see the beautiful palace. Here is the entrance to the palace and the huge crowds. The line to get in was the longest we had seen on our trip. Thankfully it moved fairly quickly and we were able to get inside after only a short wait.
Just like exploring the maps of Disneyland, here is the family checking out the maps of Versailles.
We opted to take the audio tour and it worked out really great for the children. It took up their attention, so rather than having them bounce off the walls and touch each other, they pushed buttons and listened to the children's tour of the castle.
The history was really neat. I did snap a few pictures of some cool things, but mostly we enjoyed the audio tour. We toured the King's Apartments and the State Apartments (the Queen's Apartments were closed for renovation). We learned that being royal was not a private affair. The king recognized that he needed to be accessible. In his dining room, for example, he would eat dinner about 10:00 pm while other people sat and watched.
The most famous room of Versailles is the "Hall of Mirrors." It is so beautiful with mirrors, chandeliers, and gold. This is Jill in the Hall of Mirrors.
The apartments on the lower floor were made for two daughters of Louis XV. They were decorated in their summer fabrics. In winter, everything was changed out (bedspread, curtains, and even the fabric on the walls). Alyssa by the princess's bed.
We finished up the tour inside the building and went outside to explore the gardens. Sadly, the gardens were closed that afternoon for a water fountain show. We didn't want to buy the additional tickets, so the best we could do was look out the windows to see the gardens.
At the back of the palace property are two other palaces. We decided to walk towards them. The Grand Trianon and the Petit Trianon were built so the royals could have a place to go when they needed to escape the rigors of court life. This sounded ridiculous until we learned that Versailles was the home of 10,000 people, so these smaller palaces must have been a welcome change. They were also surrounded by pretty gardens and even a lake. In the same area was Marie Antoinette's Hamlet. She had this small village built so she could pretend to be a peasant.
We began walking and there was only one place for lunch along the street. There was a long line and I made the call to keep walking. I was sure we would find another place to buy food. That proved to be a bad decision. We never did find another suitable place to buy lunch. Everyone was starving the entire afternoon. We had snacks in our backpacks, but they just didn't cut it. The kids, especially, became more and more cranky as time went on. It did speed up our visit, though. In Versailles, we listened to every detail. In the Grand Trianon, we read every sign, but by the Petit Trianon, we simply walked through the building as quickly as we could. We just wanted to finish touring and get back to the restaurant we had passed.
Here is the path to the other palaces. The walk was really beautiful.
The Grand Trianon.
It had a beautiful lake on the grounds.
This is part of the quaint little village, Marie Antoinette's Hamlet. It was very peaceful and pretty.
After eating all the snacks we could find, we finally we got a late lunch. We tried to eat a small meal so we would still want to eat dinner. The children had hot dogs and we ate a croquet, which is a ham and cheese sandwich.
Getting out of the parking area of Versailles was unbelievable. There was only one way out and people would get in line but not prepay. So they would plug the line, go pay, then come back only to have the next car do the same thing. It took forever!!! We finally were able to drive back to our hotel. The drive took a long time and we let the girls watch the Parent Trap again. They watched it eight times as we drove through Europe! Despite the long drive, I'm not sure the trains would have been much faster, and at least we were comfortable in our own cars.
Rather than eat at our hotel buffet again, we opted to eat at another buffet near Disneyland. We had a great dinner at the Hotel Cheyenne. Most of the food was American so, of course, the children loved it. The only downfall was the drinks. We were only able to get one non-refillable soda. The food was great, but everyone was a bit parched for a drink.
Here are the girls eating ice cream as part of their dessert at the Hotel Cheyenne. It was a nice way to end our full day of touring.
No comments:
Post a Comment