James and I visited the Palace of Versailles for the first time on our honeymoon forty years ago, so I was very keen to return on our Ruby Anniversary visit to Paris. Today was actually James’ and my third visit, because we also visited Versailles two years ago, which reminded me how very beautiful are the gardens of the Palace. Heather and Ewan suggested that we go on a bike tour of the gardens, which was a great idea because the grounds of the palace are extensive and we could travel further by bike. They very generously organised and insisted on treating us to this outing, and it was an absolutely tremendous day.
So this morning we had a fairly early start; we left the hotel at 7.30 a.m. and headed by metro to Javel-André Citroën station to meet our cycling guide, Dave, who then took us onwards by train to Versailles. Dave was friendly and very knowledgable; at the bike hire shop at Versailles he soon sorted out bikes for our group of eleven people. I was very excited but a bit apprehensive about cycling through the town to get to the palace grounds. I need not have worried, Dave guided us ably and I soon felt fairly confident. We shopped for a picnic lunch at the market and soon arrived at a side gate into the beautiful gardens. Our fellow travellers were a very pleasant group of people from different parts of the USA, including a couple from Denver, Colorado with a seven year old son called Harry, a couple who were about our own age from Nebraska, and a mother and daughter from Houston, Texas. Dave led us on a brilliant cycle route through the beautiful scenery, past the canal and along tree-lined avenues, stopping for a closer look at some of the gorgeous fountains on our way. We stopped at the far end of the lake for our picnic lunch and Dave gave us a lively and entertaining talk about the history of Versailles and the French Revolution. It really was idyllic. I should mention that I had an electric bike which was great fun, although the route was so level that I probably could have managed without it. Our next stop was Le Petit Trianon; Heather has visited Versailles before when she was a student but had not seen the Hameau de la Reine, so that was a very special part of our day. We saw dragonflies hovering over the surface of a pond, water lilies blooming, roses, quaint buildings, statues, winding paths. I was really sorry when we left the park and our cycle ended, although our tour was not yet over. We walked the short distance from the cycle hire shop back to the palace and after bidding farewell to Dave we went for a tour of the King’s private apartments, which we have not seen before and which were fascinating. The afternoon was very warm and I found myself flagging a bit, but I gradually cooled down in the airy palace rooms and perked up again. It was quite crowded and our French guide had rather a tetchy exchange with one of the palace staff when we ended up in the same room at the same time as another group! After the tour we were set loose into the main palace rooms which were very busy, however that didn’t prevent us from enjoying the opulent rooms including the famous Hall of Mirrors. By this time we were all a bit footsore so we had reviving drinks and coffees at Angelina’s tea room. Back to Paris we journeyed by train and had a lovely dinner at Brass not far from our hotel. Our shy but endearing young waiter inexplicably brought us a bowl of rice which didn’t seem to have any connection to any of our dishes as well as extra chips that we hadn’t ordered, but they were not added to the bill and added to the charm of the evening! It has been a fantastic day.
So this morning we had a fairly early start; we left the hotel at 7.30 a.m. and headed by metro to Javel-André Citroën station to meet our cycling guide, Dave, who then took us onwards by train to Versailles. Dave was friendly and very knowledgable; at the bike hire shop at Versailles he soon sorted out bikes for our group of eleven people. I was very excited but a bit apprehensive about cycling through the town to get to the palace grounds. I need not have worried, Dave guided us ably and I soon felt fairly confident. We shopped for a picnic lunch at the market and soon arrived at a side gate into the beautiful gardens. Our fellow travellers were a very pleasant group of people from different parts of the USA, including a couple from Denver, Colorado with a seven year old son called Harry, a couple who were about our own age from Nebraska, and a mother and daughter from Houston, Texas. Dave led us on a brilliant cycle route through the beautiful scenery, past the canal and along tree-lined avenues, stopping for a closer look at some of the gorgeous fountains on our way. We stopped at the far end of the lake for our picnic lunch and Dave gave us a lively and entertaining talk about the history of Versailles and the French Revolution. It really was idyllic. I should mention that I had an electric bike which was great fun, although the route was so level that I probably could have managed without it. Our next stop was Le Petit Trianon; Heather has visited Versailles before when she was a student but had not seen the Hameau de la Reine, so that was a very special part of our day. We saw dragonflies hovering over the surface of a pond, water lilies blooming, roses, quaint buildings, statues, winding paths. I was really sorry when we left the park and our cycle ended, although our tour was not yet over. We walked the short distance from the cycle hire shop back to the palace and after bidding farewell to Dave we went for a tour of the King’s private apartments, which we have not seen before and which were fascinating. The afternoon was very warm and I found myself flagging a bit, but I gradually cooled down in the airy palace rooms and perked up again. It was quite crowded and our French guide had rather a tetchy exchange with one of the palace staff when we ended up in the same room at the same time as another group! After the tour we were set loose into the main palace rooms which were very busy, however that didn’t prevent us from enjoying the opulent rooms including the famous Hall of Mirrors. By this time we were all a bit footsore so we had reviving drinks and coffees at Angelina’s tea room. Back to Paris we journeyed by train and had a lovely dinner at Brass not far from our hotel. Our shy but endearing young waiter inexplicably brought us a bowl of rice which didn’t seem to have any connection to any of our dishes as well as extra chips that we hadn’t ordered, but they were not added to the bill and added to the charm of the evening! It has been a fantastic day.
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