Yesterday was fairly uneventful as a full travelling day from Lisbon to Paris….taxi…plane….bus….taxi, leaving at 7.30am and arriving at our destination at 5.00pm…Apart from the crazy taxi ride to the airport in Portugal where the driver thought he was in an F1 race!
Today we set off to visit the palace of Versailles……
Which meant navigating the Paris metro (train system)…. And three trains, many stairs, escalators….and walking around in circles (underground) we finally arrived at Versailles…in the south of Paris around midday!
Along with thousands of other tourists…
Already having decided that we were not queueing to enter the castle…and a wander around the outside and the gardens (and not lining up for three hours to get inside) was our best option…
This palace was the home to the French king Louis XIV in the 17th century and also the French government…
Lots of gold…fences…to keep the non paying tourists out!
We then wandered through the archways…
To the gardens….which are now also fenced off, another queue and another entry fee…
A glimpse through the fences…
The palace and the tourists!
Statues
Water fountains…
So bucket list ticked, we left the palace and the bedlam and wandered through the town of Versailles…in search of a coffee…stumbling on a produce market…selling….
Flowers, fresh fruit and vegetables…
Dried fruit and nuts and…
A smorgasbord of olives…
Also a great coffee and a not so great loo!
We commenced our homeward journey…taking the first train through to the Eiffel Tower stop…
The centre of Paris still sporting the remnants of the 2024 summer Olympics…and again the crowds of tourists!
This driving bridge is still only a walking bridge where the Olympic rings stand proud and where many of the events (triathlons, marathons) crossed to their finish line.
Getting really hungry by this time we followed our noses until we found a cafe area, many of whom were closing as it was after the 12-2pm lunchtime slot. We did find a pizza place open and shared one between us….before walking off the main drag towards the Metro (train) back to our abode in Clichy!
More residential and much quieter than walking on the edge of the Seine River…clutching our bags!
Again the maze of stairs, escalators and train options…to be finally helped by a young French girl who assured us we were finally on the correct platform for our final train leg!!! The trains all day were full and several times we were swinging from the bars as standing room only! No such thing as giving up your seat for the old gals!
All who wander are not Lost girls 