Paris Day 2 – Versailles

Sunday we decided to take a train to Versailles.  We both had been to the palace before, but we wanted to explore during the off season with less tourists.  I was nervous that going in the fall would be a disappointment, but I was dead wrong.

I have this weird love affair with French history – in particular, I adore Marie Antoinette.  I know, she kinda has a bad rep, but I wasn’t a French commoner during her reign, so I still love her.

The gilded gate, a sight to be seen all on its own.

The Hall of Mirrors.

After walking through the royal apartments, we stopped to eat in the cafe before we ventured outside to the gardens.  It was drizzling off and on for the majority of the day but luckily it stopped raining as soon as we were done walking through the palace.  The chateau is stunning, but the gardens are incredible.  True, the fountains weren’t on and the flowers weren’t in bloom – but it was still breathtaking with the colorful leaves.

We spent most of our time at the Grand and Petit Trianon – The Petit being my favorite.

We also explored the rest of Marie Antionette’s estate, including the farm.  If you were to ask Zach what his favorite part of Versailles was, he would tell you it was the goats.  He loves goats.

I love the structures at the farm, it reminds me of a fairy tale.  It’s a true fact that Marie Antoinette had this farm and its other buildings constructed so she could pretend to be a milk maid and escape “royal life”.  An interesting fact?  She had all the cows washed before she would touch them and would take lambs for walks using silk ribbons for leashes.  Her estate is my FAVORITE part of all of Versailles – truly extravagant and unnecessary, truly French royalty!

After seeing everything we wanted to see [and almost renting a golf cart to get us back to the chateau] we made our way back to the train station for Paris.  We went to dinner at one of our favorite restaurants in a public square near the Paris Opera House.  We ate here on our first trip back to Paris for first anniversary.  The only thing we could understand on the menu?  Cheese and chicken.  We got both of those things.

We stopped for a view of the Opera House on our way back to the Metro station.  It is so gorgeous lit up at night!

We ended our late night at McDonald’s so Zach could get a cone glace [an ice cream cone] this is, in fact, the only food item Zach knows how to say in French.  He says it with an authentic accent, too.  Amongst all the finest desserts and pastries in Paris, Zach wanted Mickey D’s.

Some things will never change.

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