We walked our usual track via place d’ Concorde to
Invalides train station to Versailles.
From the station it was only a 5 minute walk to the Palace. We were fortunate to buy our entry tickets at
the train station as the queues at the Palace were incredible – and that was
the queue for the people that had tickets.
The queue buying tickets was really long too and people looked very
unhappy as once they had bought their tickets to realise they then had to join
the ticket holder queue. We finally got
to the entrance and the scanner to make sure we were not carrying anything
wrong. Pop put my tripod stool on the
scanner – it was rejected – we couldn't take it in. Pop explained that I needed the chair so I
could sit down when needed and that I couldn't walk very far so……they lent us a
wheel chair. This was a fantastic
outcome.
The Palace of Versailles is incredible, extravagantly
furnished and decorated. The paintings
were fabulous. We spent over three hours
looking around. Because of the wheel chair
we got very special treatment. The
crowds were huge and if we were caught up trying to get through a doorway one
of the security people would come to our aid, demand people to stand back out
of our way. We rolled towards the end of
one area which turned into a staircase – no problems – a security guard came
and led us around a corner up an elevator along a corridor and there we were
back on track. This happened a number of
times and we were quite aware that as we entered each new room the security person
was ready to come to our assistance. The
wheel chair was returned and we went out to see the fabulous gardens.
The gardens were the opposite of Monet’s – everything was
prim and proper clipped and straight, but they shared a common element of beauty
in the selection of colours. There were
rows topiary shrubs, alternating patterns, repeated time after time. It was an amazing display. We had lunch in one of the outdoor cafes in
the gardens, hidden in stands of trees and shrubs.
Back to the train station, via
an ice cream shop and back to Paris, a cold drink in a café near the Madeleine
and then back to Le Vignon for the last time.
We spoke to Martine and thanked her for her hospitality.
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