My name is Marion Vermazen. I am a traveler, hiker, reader, Sun alumnus, computer geek, YouTuber, Spanish and French language student, knitter, weaver and genealogist.
This morning in Versailles we went out for some breakfast then enjoyed walking through the town market on the way back to the hotel.
BreakfastVersailles market
When we got back to the hotel we packed up and checked out. Then we walked to the Avis rental car office and picked up our rental car. We left Versailles and headed west.
Versailles city hall as we left town
Tonight we are at Chateau Vauloge. It is stunningly beautiful spot and tonight we are the only ones staying here. Le Mans the town that has the famous race track is only about twenty miles from here. That’s where the nearest restaurants are but we are a bit worn out today and didn’t want to drive somewhere for dinner. So we went to the grocery store and then had a great picnic dinner in the chateau living room.
Dinner The view from the window of our room. Chateau Vauloge
Today was proof of how changeable spring weather can be. A few days ago in Paris the temperature was over 80. Today the high temperature was 57.
But, that’s good because the sun was shining and cool weather is ideal for exploring the gardens of Versailles. Before we started our walk we stopped for some breakfast.
Fresh OJ, coffee and a croissant!
Today is Monday, so the Palace of Versailles and the Estate of Trianon were closed. We were also told that the gardens would be closed but apparently that just meant the fountains weren’t running. We were able to walk all over the gardens. We circumnavigated the Grand Canal. It was wonderful. We walked for a total of eight miles today! Versailles is so big! I knew that Versailles was big from what I had read. But the scale of everything still blew me away.
Walking 8 miles was easy because it was flat, easy walking with lots of interesting things to see. The grand canal, laid out between 1668 and 1679 measures 60 metres wide, 1,700 metres east-west and 1,000 metres north-south! And there were very few people because it’s Monday.
The Latona Basin and the Grand Canal from the palace.
A very nice older woman (probably our age) talked to us a bit when we were standing by the Apollo Fountain. She told us that they had regilded the fountain for the Olympics and that some of the events were held here at Versailles. She was so nice. I apologized for my French being so bad and she said at least you make an effort. It made my day!
After we finished most of our walk we had coffee and enjoyed the setting.
The Apollo fountain Here we are at the end of the grand canal. You can just see the palace way in the background.Coffee at the end of our walk.
For dinner we went to a wonderful little bistro, La Tour. The ambiance was absolutely prefect and our steaks were so good!
La Tour where we ateOur steaks and friesThe restaurant was full.
Tomorrow we pick up another rental car and head west.
This morning we left our hotel in the La Defense area of Paris and took the Metro to Versailles. Versailles is only about 10 miles from Paris so we didn’t go far.
We did have a minor hiccup today on our travels. When we got on the L train we didn’t realize that the line splits and you need to actually make sure you are on a L train for Versailles. Once we realized that our train was stopping at the wrong stops we knew that we were on the wrong train. We got off, caught the next train back to before the split, and then got on the correct train for Versailles!
At the station where we got off and waited 20 minutes for a train going back to the center.
We got to Versailles with no further problems. Then we walked to our hotel. Our room wasn’t ready so we went to find coffee. We walked through the market then we had coffee and a baked apple with cream brûlée sauce at a little bistro. It was so good that we decided to make a reservation at the restaurant, Au Petit Marquis, for dinner.
Our baked apple.
We had timed entry tickets for the palace of Versailles for 4:00 so we were there at 4:00 and toured the palace. The scale and opulence of the palace is pretty amazing. The crowds were pretty amazing too. I’m glad we went but I don’t think I would ever come back.
Inside the hall of mirrors at Versailles .
We had a fabulous dinner at Au Petit Marquis.
Folie gras to startMy duck with potatoes dauphineCheesecake for desertInside Au Petit Marquis
Our 4 days in Paris have been a really nice break in our travels. This morning we went to the Carnavalet Museum. It is an enormous, fascinating museum of the history of Paris.
Marie Antoinette going to the guillotineGame of new Paris created in the 1860s to celebrate the new layout and buildings created by the public works program of Georges-Eugène Haussmann under Napoleon III.
After we left the museum we sat on a bench in Place Des Vosges in the Marais.
Our bench on Place Des VosgesVictor Hugo’s house overlooking the park. I love the kids playing in the sandbox in the foreground.
Then we had refreshments nearby.
Afternoon refreshments
Finally we walked along the Seine before heading back to our hotel.
Duke and I have been to Paris before. So on this trip we aren’t visiting sights like The Louvre or the Eiffel Tower, as wonderful as they are. Instead we are visiting less well known sights. Today we walked through the Bois de Boulogne to the Musée Marmottan Monet.
The equestrian club in the Bois de Boulogne. The man on the fence was giving direction to the rider.We walked by The Foundation Luis Vuitton art museum. They currently have a show of David Hockney’s work.The walk to the museum was about 2 miles. So we kept an eye out for strategic park benches.Lac Infèrieur in Bois de Boulogne
The Marmottan Museum was started in 1934 when Paul Marmottan gave his townhouse and collection to the Académie Des Beaux-arts. It has what is considered the world’s leading collection of the works of Claude Monet. We also saw there temporary exhibit of the works of Eugène Boudin, the father of Impressionism. I really enjoyed the museum.
I don’t remember ever having heard of this Monet painting, Field of Tulips before. It was one of my favorites today.One of the Monet galleriesA couple of the Boudin paintings we saw.
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