Versailles, France
We were so rushed to get everything packed last night, that I’m actually writing this post from the airport as we wait to board our flight home to Charlotte.
We chose to do a day trip to Versailles for our last day in Paris. We rode the RER Train about 45 minutes to Versailles. Instead of going straight to the Palace and Gardens, we detoured and visited the Sunday Morning Place Marche Notre Dame Market – basically, a year-round farmers market.
This was one of the coolest things we did this trip. The market was filled with locals doing their weekly shopping. There were fresh fruits, vegetables, fish, meats, eggs, flowers, spices, jams, olive oils, wines, cheeses, roasted chicken, crepes, hand-made crafts and tons more available. We spent way too long browsing the goods and decided to stop at one of the crepe stalls for lunch before continuing on. We each had ham, egg and cheese crepes and shared a nutella crepe (soooo good) for dessert.
After the market, we made the long, cobbled walk to the Versailles Palace only to realize there was a 2+ hour wait to go inside. Being the resourceful couple we are, we decided to try the gardens first and go back to the palace later. Apparently, there are many other resourceful couples because there was a line for the gardens, as well. We were hesitant to pay the entrance fee seeing how crowded everything was and not knowing how long we would have to wait.
So, we did a little research and found that there were a couple other gates on the other side of the park that are used by locals for running and biking. If open, entry is usually free though you can’t get to the main gardens, you can get to the Petite Trianon (Marie Antoinette’s house) and the Grand Trianon (where Louis XVI lived).
The first gate we tried was locked, but the second was open and bustling with locals. We walked past Marie Antoinette’s estate (featuring sheep and other farm animals) to her home. We paid (a much lower fee than Versailles) ticket price to tour both the Trianon chateaus and their connected gardens.
Marie Antoinette’s house was much smaller than i expected. It was simple but elegant and decorated with her monogram and favorite flower (blue cornflower) throughout. After walking around her home and the nearby Grand Trianon, we were exhausted and our feet hurt.
We noticed a little hop on/hop off trolley car and realized that, for only 4 euros each, we could catch a ride back to the main entrance. A few stops down we ended up at one of the grand canal lakes and I saw they were renting out little row boats. It was just gorgeous with the families picnicking in the green grass, ducks swimming in the water and the Versailles Palace gleaming in the distance.
I immediately pulled Josh off the trolley and insisted we go for a row boat ride. To fully understand Josh’s concern, you must first known that we have a long history of me causing him to almost drown (according to him) while on vacation. He is not the best swimmer and I’m not the best at taking no for an answer – so we often end up in these situations.
Against his wishes and concerns that neither of us knew how to row a boat, I got tickets and pulled him on board (how hard could it be to row a boat, anyway – I wondered).
Well, it was hard!
Josh lacked the coordination and I lacked the strength required to row the boat properly. After a couple close calls and one wreck with a family of six – I admitted Josh was right and we needed to get back to shore. The problem was that, in our attempts to avoid capsizing, we had drifted pretty far away from the boat return station.
Every time we made some progress in getting back, the wind would blow us further away. I was laughing so hard the boat was rocking. Josh was in the midst of an anger-infused panic. And, it soon became obvious that our floundering had become a source for amusement for the people sitting on the bank. A dozen or so people were laughing with (or maybe at) us and cheering us on as we made our way to shore.
Eventually, it became clear that we would never make it back via the water. Plus, the boat rental rate was a rather expensive 12 euros per half an hour and we had been out for 45 minutes already. We made the difficult decision to abandon ship.
We rowed as close to shore as we could. Being the better swimmer, I volunteered as Tribute and leapt from the boat to the shore. Luckily, I made it. Josh threw me the rope and I pulled him and the boat in so that he could disembark with some dignity (and not like a floundering hippo with wings, as I had). Mind you, people on the bank are still laughing and pointing the entire time this whole ordeal is happening.
From there, we still had to make a rather lengthy walk of shame back to the return dock – asking people to move in bad French while Josh pulled the rope and I occasionally sat on the bank to kick the boat out away from rocks and other boats.
I found the whole thing hilarious. Josh found it humiliating. What was NOT funny to me, however, was that once we got the boat returned and went to get on board the trolley – which had just arrived – we were told it was full and that this was the last route for the day.
We would either need to walk 30 minutes back through the garden and show our garden ticket (which we didn’t buy) to exit or walk 2 hours back to the gate we had entered through.
I am both proud of and ashamed of what we did next.
As we sat there dumb founded and seething, another – different – trolley pulled into the station. This one was nice and enclosed and letting people with yellow tickets on (which we didn’t have). Regardless, we rushed to try and get on board. The driver at first shook his head. In broken English he asked where our tickets came from. After questioning him back, insisting we be allowed on board and a little exploitation of the language barrier that existed, he got frustrated and pointed for us to climb on board.
Little did we know, this was the special trolley for people who had purchased what was called a passport ticket – a group deal for entry into every area of the park. While the trolley we were supposed to be on drove past the private gardens to the exit. This trolley drove inside the gardens (which, again, we did not have tickets to) and let us out.
So, we got to spend the rest of the afternoon in the the garden sans the long line and the entrance fee. The gardens are beautiful and peaceful – full of green grass, blue-water fountains and statues. As is the French way, everything is symmetrical and extremely pleasing to the eye.
This surprise/illicit entry into the garden was enough to make Josh forgive me for that terrible row boat idea. When we were ready to leave – we discovered there was no longer a line for the interior of the Palace and we got to do that too!
We’ve seen a lot of fancy chateaus and period furniture on this trip – but Versailles was really worth seeing. Despite no line to get in, it was still very crowded inside. We had to rush through some of the rooms, but we did spend plenty of time taking in the hall of mirrors (where the Treaty of Versailles was signed).
There was lots of advice on the best way to see Versailles, but I’m pretty sure whatever we did – however we managed to do it – is the best way!
We were pretty exhausted when we arrived back in the room.
And the best thing for exhaustion is Le Spa! We stayed at the spa until almost closing time. And, I made friends with a woman from Shanghai in the jacuzzi. Perhaps that will be our next destination?
I wanted to share a little bit about how we were able to stay in such a nice hotel for this trip. Over the last year or so Josh has become obsessed with obtaining and maximizing travel rewards points.
Last year we both signed up for Hyatt credit cards. Josh did a lot of research about the best cards and the rules before choosing Hyatt. As new card holders we were offered 2 free nights per card in any Hyatt hotel as a sign up bonus once we spent $1000.00 per card. This was fairly easy to do because we got the cards while moving into our new house and there were so many new house expenses plus regular cost of living (gas, food, Christmas gifts etc. . .). We just used the credit cards in lieu of cash or debit and paid the balance each month (we’re pretty committed to never carrying a monthly balance on credit cards we use for travel).
With that we had 4 free nights to cash in at any Hyatt hotel in the world. We could have stayed at the Hyatt hotel in Myrtle Beach or Nashville or New York OR Paris for the same “price” of free.
So, Josh secretly stole my identity (I’m not too mad about it) for this surprise birthday trip and cashed in all of our free nights for the stay in Paris. He has become very knowledgeable about all the ends and outs of travel rewards points (he’s even helped my parents cash in some points they didn’t even realize they has on a recent vacation). So, if you’ve got questions – he is definitely the guy to talk to.
We are pretty frugal in our everyday life and we have a separate savings account just for vacations – we can’t always add to it every month, but we do as often as we can. We look for great deals and we are lucky enough to have reasonably flexible work schedules that will allow us to go somewhere last minute. Traveling together is our favorite thing to do and we’re working on getting it down to a science.
I really appreciate those of you who read our blog and followed our travels. I blog mostly to preserve the memories for ourselves, but also to share a little bit of the world we’re seeing with others who might be interested.
Traveling opens your eyes and your heart. We’re by no means experts (but we hope to be one day). We firmly believe that if you have the chance to go somewhere, you should. It doesn’t have to be far, but it can be!
I hope that one day Josh and I will be lucky enough to grow old and achy together – too sore and arthritic to walk on cobblestone streets or climb mountains or row boats. It will be in those times that these memories are most cherished.
Until then, I want to see enough great art, extravagant buildings and beautiful places to carry us through.
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