Europe Adventure: Day Nineteen, part two- Versailles, part two

After having our lunch we went outside to explore the massive grounds. 

You could spend an entire day just exploring it. 

 

They had bikes and golf carts you could rent to ride around and we decided to skip on that... but later wished we hadn't! It was pretty cold and we were tired and this was a LONG walk!

After going down the hill and seeing the fountains we walked toward Marie Antoinette's hamlet. 

I spotted this guy and had to take a picture of him. I wasn't sure what he was but I think a muskrat? 

After I took pictures I noticed everyone else that was around going over to see what I was looking at. He got his picture taken a lot that day. 

It is pretty crazy to think of Marie Antoinette "playing" peasant but the hamlet was pretty amazing. 

One of the buildings was under construction. 

After seeing the hamlet we walked back up to the palace and then back down to the train station. 

We took the 40 minute train back to our stop near our hotel. 

We kept seeing this sign at all the train stops we passed. I have no idea what it is for but it made me laugh. 

Next up: More Paris

Europe Adventure: Day Nineteen, Part one- Versailles, part one

On Saturday, April 23rd we had an appointment for a tour at the Palace of Versailles. 

We woke up and had Zone bars, got ready, and walked about 5 minutes to the nearby RER station. 

We bought our tickets to Versailles and caught the train just minutes later. 

The train ride was about 40 minutes but pleasant. It was a nice double decker train. 

As I said, there is graffiti everywhere...

When we got off the train we walked about a mile to the Palace. 

It was huge and so awe-inspiring outside. 

I pre-ordered our tickets to the Palace of Versailles and I also booked us the King's Apartment tour. 

This tour made it so we didn't have to wait in lines. It is a really small private group and you get to go the private King's rooms that you don't get to go into on a regular visit. 

Then at the end you see the rest of the Palace that everyone else sees with a regular ticket. 

It was very cold outside and the lines were already long. 

We asked a guard where to go for our tour and got to go right in to the palace into a nice, cozy warm room to wait for out tour to start. 

Our tour was about fifteen people. 

Our tour guide took us to each room telling us the story of those that lived here and the things that went on in these rooms. 

Everything was amazingly beautiful. 

Check out this desk!

Our tour guide: 

Amazing library: 

We got to go into the private Opera House which was breathtaking!

After this we were able to go out into the main parts of the Palace. 

It was weird to go back into the crowds after having so much space to ourselves. 

We were so glad we did the private tour. It was SO worth it. 

The place was so crowded you kind of just went along with the flow through the rooms and tried to get as good of a view as you could. 

It was hard to get a really good picture of the Hall of Mirrors but we held back a bit trying to get in between groups. 

When we were done touring we went into the gift shop and then into the Laduree shop to get some of their famous macarons. 

We stopped in the cafe and then grabbed a table in one of the little dining rooms to have our lunch. 

We each had a jambon sandwich, chips, and a drink. 

We split some of the macarons to try them out. 

They were very yummy. 

Next up: The Grounds of Versailles Palace