Ok. Your correspondent appears to have vanquished the technology demons, or sated the technology Gods - whatever - and managed to recover the photos from Versailles.)
Both of us appear to have synchronised with the clock, as we had much better nights' sleep last night. That meant that we were properly refreshed and re-charged for our next day's adventure.
Today, Versailles!
(Which is pronounced ver-say, as you all know, not ver-sigh as Tim pronounced it to a transport official who consequently didn't know where we were going!)
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| The entire gardens |
Many readers will know Cate's story of her first visit to Versailles, on a Monday when the palace is closed, and being caught short in the gardens. Well, identifying the location of that magnificent moment in history was a central plank in this whole overseas adventure and the certain reason for today's visit to the palace.
[** Spoiler alert **] The spot was not definitively identified. :(
However, the gardens were thoroughly investigated (by Tim) and surveyed from the top of the grand concourse (by Cate).
But your dutiful correspondent will step back, for a moment, and begin at the beginning.
The first order of business after our leisurely breakfast was a visit to the local (farmers) market in Place Berthet (pronounced ber-tay, as you know :) ). Cate has vivid memories of a small, green fruit that she bought in the markets there and those fruits being sweet and delightful to eat. We hoped to acquire some more. Alas, while there was lots of lovely, fresh fruit, vegetables, meat, fish, and cheeses, the mystery small, green fruit was not available. Probably a seasonal thing, we decided.
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| Market stalls in Place Berthet |
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| Farmer's market in Place Berthet |
Having acquired some victuals, we walked back to the house just in time to be stopped on the street by Birgit and Eric on their way to London to witness the graduation of their youngest daughter, Lena, from the London School of Economics. The timing was also such that we met Birgit's cleaner, Paula, as we dropped off our purchases and then headed back out to travel to Versailles.
We walked down through the local forest to the train/bus station and got onto the bus that we'd been guided by Birgit to catch (the H line), which took us on an all-stops trip through La Celle St Cloud, adjoining towns, and finally to the station at the foot of the promenade/boulevard up to the Palace. Even from the distance of the bus, it was clear we were not alone! Let's say thousands of tourists were thronging around the palace (understandably) but it did not bode well for visiting the actual palace. Tim had heard stories from many friends of 45-minute waits just to buy tickets to then wait for another 45-minutes, on the cobbles, in the summer sun, for entry to the palace, which would be full of people slowly shuffling around the various exhibits.
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| Tree-lined promenade from the gare to the chalet | First view of the 'chalet' from below the car-park.
The trompe-l'œil on the building is astonishing! |
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| Additional houses attached to the palace, over the car-park | The main palace entrance with the unbelievably long queue! |
Sure enough, by the time that we arrived, the queue to enter the palace stretched from the front courtyard gate down to the main entrance, and back up again. It looked like a trial that we were not really interested in undertaking. So, we headed around the back to the gardens. Still surrounded by hundreds of tourists, we could certainly wander around freely and take in the sights.
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Cate seated in a commanding position
at the top of the gardens |
Cate had already done this (famously) and so she selected a spot with a commanding view of the gardens and settled down to wait for Tim to do a tour of the gardens for himself. Which he did.
The collection of photos below do little justice to the splendour of the gardens on a bright summer's day. The sheer scale of the place is difficult to grasp and then the detail in the various gardens, garden rooms, promenades, and plazas is equally mesmerising. For Tim, the gardens are a place of wonder. He saw (presumably) local people jogging through the gardens/park and felt that if one had the opportunity to do such a thing it would be motivation enough to actually take up jogging! The beauty of the carefully cultivated gardens and park are truly awe-inspiring. They are, too, a vulgar display of wealth and power by Louis XIV and others, of course, but given that the public can now enjoy this once private park, that may be forgiven (or at least forborne).
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| The Palace from the steps overlooking the gardens | An attempt to give a sense of the broad scale and layout |
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| Garden ornaments | The elaborate layout in the hedged gardens |
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| Views in the hedged gardens | What's behind the lattice work |
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| The central pond, above the canal | The decorative statues and topiary surrounding the pond |
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| View back to the palace from the end of the canal | Examples of the topiary |
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| The Mirror Room | The King's Garden |
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| A tribute to Bacchus (God of Wine!) | The Ballroom (closed at the moment) |
We had lunch in the Restaurant Oro within the palace walls (but accessible from the public areas) and while it was expensive (as expected in the locale), it was also very nice.
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| Quaint, Parisian streetscape |
After our leisurely lunch, we wandered back to the train/bus station and negotiated the public transport back to La Celle St Cloud, including the little local bus from the station up the hill to the end of our street. Tonight will be a quiet night in, just the two of us, while Birgit and Eric are in London.
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