Paris - Day 3

On our third day, my sister had arranged for a guided tour in English to Versailles.  The tour guide picked us up at our hotel and drove us to Versailles.  On the way, the guide gave us a French history lesson.  It was a lesson filled with names and dates but also one about love, conflict, children, ideology....just enough to make me want to study more about French history as soon as we got home!

Upon reaching Versailles, our tour guide brought us to the front gate where we waited for the palace to open.

While waiting, our guide suggested we take a look at the outside gardens.

Because we were with a tour, we didn't have to stand in line once the palace opened.  I wish I would have taken a picture of the line - we would have been standing outside in line for at least an hour!!  Instead, we were taken through the palace by our guide who explained the paintings, rooms, etc.  He did mention that the palace was filled with Napoleon's furniture as the furniture from the Louis XV era had been sold, most of it ending up in Russia.

We also took a tour of Grand Trianon which is on the palace grounds.  It was built in 1687 for Louis XIV as a place for him to get away from the pomp and circumstance of the palace life.

After the inside tour, we were able to roam the gardens and take part in the Musical Fountains Show.  All of the fountains on the property came alive to some beautiful classical music.

After a lunch at a little restaurant on the palace grounds, we walked to outbuildings that were built for Marie-Antionette.  They were made to look like a little country village, complete with pastures and a vineyard.

Because the little girls had done so well all day and were still willing to see another site, we travelled to the Arc de Triomphe.  This monument was built by Napoleon and listed all of his battles. It is also the place of France's Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.  There is a tunnel that leads you under the roadway to the monument and if you are willing to walk up a very long spiral staircase, you can go to the top and get a great view of the city.

Another wonderful day spent in Paris!

"A walk about Paris will provide lessons in history, beauty, and in the point of life."  -Thomas Jefferson