Before today…one more thing from yesterday: Last night, while we were crossing the bridge over the Seine River with lights on the boats below sparkling off the water and admiring the Eiffel Tower all lit up and glowing, Kim and Jessica overheard a middle aged French man say to the woman next to him, (in English, but with a French accent) “This is almost as nice as Pittsburg, but not quite as nice as Pittsburg.” I thought we were going to have to pick Kim up off the ground she was laughing so hard. Jeff Pinyot, that one is for you!
Well, we got another late start this morning, but we weren’t rushing. We only had one tour stop on our map today and it was Versailles. This started as a hunting lodge at the beginning of the 17th century by Louis XIII and enlarged to mainly what is there today by his son, Louis XIV beginning in 1661. The size and scope of the estate is amazing.
We had to ride subways and trains to get there, and arrived a little after noon.
I don’t know if this will give you an idea of how large everything is, but here are some photos:
The water you see behind us is actually “little Venice” a canal way that King Louis the XIV had dug so they could re-enact famous Naval war scenes on the water!
Kim said these flower beds were the most beautiful grouping of flowers she has ever seen. All of the colors were spectacular.
And some hedge rows:
I have had a head cold the last couple of days and I forgot my Kleenex with me today, so grabbed a bunch of toilet paper from the restroom. The family thought this was hilarious, but it was necessary.
and while we are having fun with dad, these prove Kim was in the wrong family today:
Marie Antoinette had this village created on the property so she could get the feel of peasant life. This wasn’t just a couple buildings out in a field, there were 10 buildings or so in this little village!
and lots of fish too!
We finished with a tour of the palace itself. The highlights were the hall of mirrors where the Treaty of Versailles was signed after WWI, and the chapel. The grandeur of the whole thing was pretty impressive too.
We came home tonight and ate all of our food before we leave in the morning. That is to say that we had PB&J, cheese and crackers, yogurt, cereal, and Milka chocolate for dessert.
Kim is packing right now and we are getting ready to be picked up by the shuttle service in the morning to head to the airport. No way are we tackling this trip to the airport on the subways and trains.
We will be underway at 1:30pm local time and be home to Indy by 9:30pm there – at least that is the plan.
I will make one more post to end the trip sometime this weekend, but it was a good one. I think 25 days is PLENTY long but worth it. Certainly living elbow to elbow for that long draws you closer, that is for sure.
Thanks for all the prayers!
The Whitlock Family
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