We were not going to Paris and miss out on Versailles! We had the museum pass so we needed to do the museums and Versailles back to back (I would highly recommend the museum pass, that along with the carnet (set of metro tickets) saved us a ton of time and money). I had asked around about traveling with a child in the cold - the mothers here are pros at keeping their kids warm while I have just tried to pile blankets on my little one. Our neighbor insisted that we test out her umbrella stroller (the popular mcclaren in the states is not as rugged as the one here) and a friend loaned us one of her "cozy toes" she wasnt using. Below is a picture of Hadley all bundled up - I wouldnt have minded seeing Paris wrapped in a portable sleeping bag!
All warm
Versailles was about a 40 minute train/metro ride away, it is just massive!
The grounds were gorgeous, it is the one time I was sad we came in March. We missed all of the lines and crowds, but to see the grounds and gardens in full bloom would have been stunning. We may just need to plan a quick trip back in the summer!
The walkways were so wide and beautiful, it was really impressive. I basically got us lost looking for The Hamlet - after that point it was decided Jamie would do any and all navigation during our trips.
Apollo's Fountain, the detail was impressive
Sheep on the way to the Petite Trianon, one of my favorite stories of Marie Antoinette was that she would pretend to live in her cottage and servants would clean the eggs and perfume the sheep before she would play with them.
The Hamlet, for some reason I mistakenly thought it was two buildings - turns out it is almost this mini town of cottages.
There was a little house painted lavendar and even a tiny water wheel
The Palace
Hall of Mirrors
It was really interesting to see the mirrors up close, the were not very big or bright but considering how difficult it was to make them back then made it much more impressive. They say the queen and king would walk through this hallway before councils. Versailles really is the most impressive palace we have seen, it seems so extravagant but after visiting and learning a bit more about the history I can finally see the political motivation behind being the biggest and the best. It wasn't just for the kings enjoyment, although I am sure that was a great benefit, but to show off to all the other nations. I didn't understand how intertwined the countries and their history becomes by living so close - I really need to get some kind of quick reference to keep track of what was going on where and when. It is nothing like I experienced in the US where most states are larger that some of the European countries.
Everything was gold leafed, there were tiny neekid baby buns everywhere.
Hadley tried to get into my macroons on the way home
This is going to be blasphemous (especially to my old coworkers...) but we stopped at McDonalds for dinner on the way home. They had these funny self serve screens. The night before it took us almost an hour and a half to get 2 crepes and the bill, so after the long day we were looking for something fast. We modified our travel plans since we had a 1 year old with us. She isnt a stroller sleeper, the girl loves her crib, so we tried to keep her bedtime at the usual time and then every other morning we started a bit late so she could take a morning nap. We realized we wouldnt be able to do any "fine dining" because it takes too long (even in England it takes twice as long as in the US, it is great on a date but not great when you child has exhausted all the toys in your diaper bag) and decided to focus on the pastries/candy/bread of France instead. We also added an extra day on our itinerary so we were not rushed. It ended up working really well for us, Hadley did great and I wasn't stressed.
Dessert - Larudee's is know for their macaroons and they were delish. The rose was somehow distinctly rose without verging on perfume, the caramel was divine - never would have dreamed to put real caramel in a macaroon, the vanilla was well rounded, chocolate was rich and the green apple was tart and bright, although I don't really like green apple. Jamie hates nuts and Hadley is too young so I enjoyed them all without having to share.
Tired little girl. She did so great for such a long day, and for some reason slept the entire vacation with her little bum pointed up in the air and smooshed in the corner. We would hide on the other side of the bed until she was asleep and then Jamie and I would watch Modern Family episodes on his laptop with headphones. A bit strange but I have great memories of us trying to quietly laugh in the dark so we didn't wake her up.
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