World Explorers 2011: J'aime Paris in the summer.....

An ornate perch for this crow....

So much bigger than we expected...

"To the glory of France"

I woke early this morning and my first thought was - I am in Paris...... jumped out of bed to fling open the curtains just to be sure...... the Luxembourg Gardens are still over the road.... but what is that wet stuff on the road ...... probably just washing the streets down ..... no problem..... we have our tickets for the Palace of Versailles today, so let’s find breakfast at a local cafe on the way to the train station...... quick shower ..... and out through the front revolving door of the hotel..... what’s that wet stuff coming from the sky.... rain, I hear you say.... not in my Paris surely..... time to face reality.... it is raining and damn cold....... 15 degrees..... huddle in the doorway of a closed shop to discuss the options cause the gardens of Versailles are mostly outside and we don't have any warm jackets.....option 1... continue and take our chances..... not feeling excited about that one..... luckily option 2 closely followed... go back into the hotel and have their buffet breakfast and hot coffee... sounds enticing...formulate plan to buy jackets... the day is looking up....

Walk back into the hotel...tres chic madame behind the counter does a double take.... didn’t you just go out.... oui, madame and now we are back... for breakfast... change of plans.... after a delicious breakfast of creamy melt-in-the-mouth scrambled eggs, madame kindly lent us umbrellas and gave directions to the nearest shopping centre....who would have thought when we packed on the ship in Barcelona in 35 degree heat that my first Parisian clothing purchase would be a coat??? Surprising really, how fast you can walk when you are freezing and a new coat is within reach....

Morning tea anyone.. delicious!!

Suitably attired in our new jackets, we stopped at another cafe for a hot drink...to try to thaw out the bones... question to self......why does every coffee shop in Paris have a window full of the most delicious creamy, chocolatey concoctions and delectable macaroons ... and why does our willpower evaporate at exactly the moment that we walk through the door - an absolute mystery??

Stunning gardens

Gathering storm clouds

The showers had stopped when we left the cafe, and a few glimpses of blue appeared overhead... so map in hand...... we headed for the train station and headed for Versailles..... left the train and walked the one kilometre to the stunning palace....... wow look at the queue ... worse than anything that Disneyland has ever dished up.....patted ourselves on the back....lucky that we had bought our tickets by internet yesterday but the hotel didn’t have a printer facility.. so following the website directions, we wrote down the ticket number and took it with us..... smugly strolled past the waiting line to the prepaid ticket window... sorry madame.. you must have the tickets printed out to gain access through this gate ... you will have to join the queue and they will print out your ticket when you get to the ticket booth.... my face fell as I looked around at the queue.... and up at the gathering black rain clouds......very politely asked if we had any other option.... she said... ‘well, if you wait here for a couple of minutes, I can ask my colleague to accompany you to the front of the queue and she can print out the tickets for you’...merc, beaucoup, merci,merci,merci...... sure enough....a lovely young french girl left her post and came from behind the ticket sales counter ...... walked across the enormous courtyard, lead us to the front of the queue ..... went to a separate computer and ...voila.... here are your tickets... merci beaucoup again.... and through the gate... just as the rain started to fall..... Arnold teased me, you should have seen your face when she said we had to get in the queue, I thought you were going to cry .... tickets in hand, I just smiled back...

All the ancestors...

Gold decorated doors

Louis fifteenth's private chapel

Subtle gold candle holders

Being some distance from Paris, the Palace of Versailles was originally used by Louis 14th to distance himself from the citizens and riots in Paris, then he moved the government from Paris to Versailles - where he could control the nobility and was at the time, the world's most powerful monarch. The inscription over the front of the buildings reads 'to the glory of France', and the Palace was considered to be a magnificent temple to absolute power. Once inside we were overcome with sensory overload.... I have been to the Louvre, Vatican City and Sistine Chapel.... but to my mind they pale into the background in comparison to the Versailles Palace..... so much gold decoration, superb hand painted ceilings, so many fabulous paintings, and treasures - and every room that you enter is even more impressive than the one before - bigger statues, more intricate ceilings, more fabulous paintings and furnishings... and the gardens...oh la la.... enjoy the photos...check out the storm clouds building over the Palace....

So this is what the King's bed looks like..

and the Queen's bed - in a separate room..

Once again we returned to the hotel.... monsieur behind the bar again offers afternoon champagne... who can refuse... gradually the other guests drift through the doors to join the gathering crowd at the bar....and another wonderful interlude ensues... the bar is small and all the guests participate in the conversation... some French...some English.... we decide to refuse the invitation to join our new friends for dinner .... and instead take a romantic walk hand-in-hand around the local streets... stop for a Caprese salad in a little cafe.... discover another wonderful fountain a few streets away.......continue walking back via the superb Luxembourg Gardens.... sit by the lake to absorb the atmosphere.... and finally the gendarmes arrive to tell us that the park is closing as the sun starts to fall behind the rooftops .... we call ‘Bon soir’ to perfect strangers in response to their farewells as we leave the park together.....walk along our street to see the workmen putting up the flags and bunting for tomorrow’s Bastille Day celebrations.... cross the road for a coffee before retiring... and so the end of another perfect day.....J’aime Paris!!!!