Versailles

Mr Comatose woke up at 1am this morning! He proceeded to spend the next few hours yelling out periodically "Is it morning time yet Mum?". Fortunately his two siblings slept until 6am. We got up, got dressed and had some fruit and cereal whilst waiting for the bakery to open at 7am. After we've had our fill, we made our way towards the left bank for the first time heading to the RER C station at the Musee D'Orsay. Our destination for today was Versailles, 30 minutes away from Paris by train.

We're aiming for RER C Musee D'Orsay

The children ready to go as always

Waiting for our train to Versailles

It was an easy walk from the station to the Chateau grounds. We were there only 10 minutes after opening time but there were already bus loads of tourists swarming the grounds. I would hate to see what this place was like in the summer! The chateaux, home to Louis XIV, XV, and XVI, was a phenomenal place, one that showcased the dominance and extravagance of the French royalty at that time. We went through room after room, and hallway after hallway of opulence. We followed Rick Steves self guided tour of Versailles. It is excellent and I highly recommend it. Best of all, it's free! The entrance fee also entitled us to a free audio guide but we preferred Rick's guide of the chateau.

We followed up the tour of the interior with a tour of the expansive gardens. it was a shame that we were here in winter and not in summer where I imagine the grounds would look even more impressive.

At the gates of Chateux Versailles

Following the Rick Steves podcast with a hub for earphones makes walking a tricky challenge

Gold and detail everywhere

The royal chapel

Impressive ceilings everywhere

Artwork galore

One big room after another

Hercules Room, the site of a massive fireplace

Expansive rooms with ornate ceilings that are so difficult to capture on camera

The King's room or the Apollo room so named because Louis is the Sun King therefore the sun God 

Hall of mirrors

Gold and silver plates of Royalty

Resting tired feet

Long hallway after long hallway

Beautiful displays of goodies

Macaroons for snacks

The Queen's staircase

The expansive gardens of the chateauex

We returned to Paris and visited the Musee D'Orsay, a museum in a former train station known for its impressionist art collection, following yet another one of Rick Steves self guided tours. The children happily hunted for the artwork shown on the phone which made for happy parents. We saw works by Monet, Van Gogh, Gauguin, Cezanne, Degas, Renoir, just to name a few. On our way home, we stopped by the Tuileries Garden to enjoy the sun. The children were allowed to run riot in the playground before heading home. Young master Jonah made it to 5pm tonight before turning into a pumpkin.

I have to apologise for the brevity of the post. My power adaptor for my notebook died and the iPad and iPhone are both useless for blogging. This may be my last post if I am unable to find a replacement adaptor. So wish me luck tomorrow...

Musee D'Orsay

Tuileries Garden mark 2

Blue skies!

Bright enough to create a silhoutte!

Exercise in weight balancing...