Retired Nomads Part 4: Palace of Versailles, Picasso Museum & Evening Seine River Cruise

Saturday July 5

We took the train and a short walk to reach Versailles where we had a 9:00 reservation. Born in Versailles like his grandfather, Louis XVI became king before the age of twenty. The celebration of his marriage to the Archduchess of Austria Marie-Antoinette in 1770 at the Royal Opera House was one of the greatest events to take place in Versailles in the late 18th century. The residence gradually went from being a hunting lodge to a residence for leisure that saw grand parties and entertainment held in the gardens. From 1682 it became the main residence of the French Court and government.

In 1919 the Treaty of Versailles, which ended World War I, was signed in the Hall of Mirrors, a significant event in European history.

In an attempt to gain some brief respite from courtly etiquette, the kings of Versailles built themselves more intimate spaces close to the main palace. Adjoining the Petit Parc, the estate of Trianon is home to the Grand Trianon and Petit Trianon palaces, as well as the Queen’s Hamlet and a variety of ornamental gardens.

The estate is huge, and we did walk from the Palace to Trianon but took the little train back. We skipped the stables otherwise we think we saw the bulk of it. We did stay for the water fountain show, but honestly it was underwhelming. The gardens and fountains were beautiful with music playing all through the day and only a few more of the fountains were all going for the show.

Horses of the Sun Drinking

Apollo Served by the Nymphs

Greg in green shirt

he went that way

Mont Blanc & chocolate eclair & hot chocolates

the path to lunch through the trees

curry chicken sandwich

Petit Trianon

saw this flowering tree on our 20-minute walk to find a bathroom which turned out to be a port-a-potty

leaving Versailles, we had a selfie moment

We squeezed in the Picasso Museum before it closed. It's a small but interesting museum.

We found dinner near where we were to start the Seine River Cruise.

The Flame of Liberty is a full-sized, gold-leaf-covered replica of the flame of the torch from the Statue of Liberty

dinner

warm goat cheese salad - tomatoes, eggs, goat cheese toast & goat cheese egg rolls, honey & walnuts

We used Bateaux Mouche for the river cruise. It was nice but there was a large group on the boat on their leader had them scream and do the wave hands up front to back under EVERY bridge. Yah, that didn't get old.... It was hard to hear the commentary, but it really wasn't that important.