Tuesday October 15, 2019 -- Versailles!

Laurie and I plotted and planned what we would do in Paris for several Sundays in August and September. I confess that she probably did more research than I did. In some ways, I felt that I was along for the ride. I wanted to watch her and Mercy experience Paris, see the things that THEY wanted to see. And, as well, having been the planner in my household for all of Richard's and my previous trips, I wanted to step back and take a breather.

Still I did participate in the planning and one place that I enthusiastically endorsed going to was Versailles. In all the other times I have been to Paris--four I believe--I have never been to Versailles. But looking at the photos of this ornate, enormous palace, I felt that if I only had one more chance to see Paris and its environs, Versailles had to be on the list.

So, as we planned, we decided we should get the Paris Pass which would enable us to get into almost all the attractions we wanted to see in Paris. The exception was the Eiffel Tower so we booked that separately. Laurie was so excited about the planning and carefully read all she could with me pointing things out now and then. Sitting at Laurie's kitchen table, surrounded by the grandchildren all busily working on their own projects (or playing on their electronics) I kept pinching myself that, 40 years after a rather bold (foolhardy?) decision on my part to become a single parent, all of these blessings had ensued.

And so on to Tuesday morning. And, before heading out to Versailles, I felt I needed to address the issue of the extra bed with our hoteliers. The Belfast Hotel is an old fashioned hotel, as my photo in yesterday's blog showed. The room is beautiful but small. There is a European "queen" (slightly larger than a double in U.S. terms) bed and they have made up a kind of couch as the bed for the third person. I wondered about it when, going to sit on it Sunday night to take off my shoes, I found myself sinking almost to floor level. Laurie is a trouper though and volunteered to sleep on it that night. And agreed that it was like sleeping in a hammock. I tried on Monday night, thinking that as I am slightly smaller, I might find it more comfortable. Nope. No. 

So, very mindful of not upsetting a Parisian hotelier, I approached the front desk with my very best French, in my most conciliatory manner. "Excuse me," I said slowly in French, "I have a little problem with the extra bed in our room that I was wondering if you could help with." There were two men at the desk, the first looked up frowning at first but then, seeing that I wasn't angry or overbearing but just enquiring, he said, equally politely, "What is that Madame?" I explained that the bed didn't seem to have a middle support, would it be possible that they could put some kind of board below the mattress to support it. The expression on his face seemed to say that he was pleased that I had thought of such a solution. "Mais oui Madame," he said. And proceeded to say that they would look into it while we were out. I chatted to him that we were on our way to Versailles and wouldn't be back until mid evening. It would be sorted out, he assured me. 

Off we went to the Paris Metro, armed with instructions on how to get from the Metro to the train that would take us to Versailles. All accomplished quite easily, we arrived at Versailles at 9:00, close to opening time. However, once again, a teenaged stomach demanded that we stop at McDonald's (sorry, but that was the first cafe we saw in Versailles) for something to eat. A pain au chocolat later, we traipsed up the road to the sign that pointed to Versailles. 

And our first views of Versailles certainly didn't disappoint. It didn't seem that there were that many people lined up but when we tried to head for the far gates (see below), we were rousted by some guards into the side where a line was actually quickly forming. It took about 20 minutes for us to get in but that was fine. I chatted with a friendly family from, funny enough, Utah, who had been in Normandy the week before and were having quite the trip themselves. In no time it seemed, we were inside and experiencing the splendor that is Versailles. These photos are just a taste of it. If you like Rococo/Baroque/French Baroque, Versailles is a must. If you want to goggle at the sheer amount of extravagance that the French monarchs experienced, Versailles is a must. 

There are supposedly 2,300 rooms at Versailles, not all accessible for the general walk through we did.  Various tours offer "private tours" of some of the other rooms but, honestly, what we saw was quite enough for 2 hours! I felt I was on sensory overload, that so much color and glitter was satiating me like eating too much at Christmas dinner. Not that I regret it, given that we had only allotted this one day, this one part of a day. It was like being in another world quite literally. 

There were loads of people by the time we started off our tour. It wasn't too bad, I could still stop and look at what I wanted to without being blocked most of the time. The exception came at the Hall of Mirrors, which is one of the most famous parts of Versailles.

There it became more difficult to take photos without getting people's heads in. And in trying to get just views of the room, I think I lost the true enormity of the room. But it was still utterly magnificent. 

And it is also where I lost Laurie and Mercy. I had managed to keep them in sight through all of the other 20-odd rooms we had passed through despite all the people and the fact that the rooms are carefully lit so that the draperies and paintings don't fade. But in the Hall of Mirrors I stopped to take one particular photo, this one with the urn, and when I walked into the next room, I couldn't see them in the group of 30 or so people. So I walked into the next. And the next. And then I turned around, thinking I might have missed them. And it became like a kind of maze with people everywhere but not Laurie or Mercy. 

I continued along until I came to the staircase and I stood there for about 20 minutes, hoping they would either come by from behind me or else come back for me. But no sign. As there is WiFi in Versailles--although reception is spotty--I tried messaging them, saying "I am by the staircase...." but no response. Then I went down to the toilets because that is always a good rendezvous spot and one we should have indicated should we get separated. Waited there for 15 minutes. Still no sign. 

What should I do? As I always do, I remember my mother's advice to me when I was a little girl, "When you are lost, go to a place where we were due to go and wait there. And continue to wait there because I will come." So, thinking that we had agreed that once we had seen the house we would go to the gardens, I went out to wait at the garden entrance.

And, thankfully, happily, about 15 minutes later, they came. They didn't seem to be too perturbed about our getting separated. I think Laurie always trusts that somehow we will meet up again and Mercy, well, Mercy was with her mother and so that was fine with her. It did mean that, in waiting for them, I missed going through some of the other rooms, like Napoleon's battles, but reunited, I really didn't mind. I had seen enough to make me quite satisfied. 

The gardens. Being October, there wasn't a huge display of flowers. But the parterres were still very impressive and the SIZE of the carefully laid out paths, trimmed hedges, statuary and fountains, hinted at by the paintings I posted above of the plans for Versailles in the 1600s, was amazing. We walked down the Grande Allee, stopped at a small cafe nestled in one of the nooks behind the tall hedges, and wondered. Really, that's the only way I can describe it. Wonder. 

I think this photo encapsulates Laurie and Mercy's closeness during the trip. It was so lovely to see mother and daughter bonding over such a special trip. Yes, Mercy got bored sometimes (more often hungry) but I think this was something that she will remember. And, just as I got rather sentimental about remembering my decision 40 years ago, I got sentimental thinking that I helped make all this happen in so many ways. 

By the time we reached the end of the Allee, our feet were sore and we weren't even close to Marie Antoinette's farm. We had also wanted to go over to our church's Temple which was another 20 minute walk. Because we were intending to meet someone there, we opted for the Temple. As it turned out, we didn't get to meet the person. It might have been nicer to have gone to Marie Antoinette's farm. But we weren't to know that and, anyway, we had an amazing day.

And it wasn't over yet.