Tues 25 August: Versailles

Today, we looked forward to seeing Stéphane's parents (Yvonne and Jean-René) at The Palace of Versailles.

Versailles was the main residence of the French kings from Louis XIV to Louis XVI.

In 1789, the people invaded Versailles and demanded that the royal family move to Paris.  Louis XVI was taken prisoner.  In 1792, he was tried by the revolutionaries.  The monarchy was abolished and "Year 1 of the French Republic" began.  Louis XVI was guillotined in 1793.  "Louis the Last."

Front gates

Despite arriving quite early, and having pre-paid tickets, the queues were never-ending.

Daryl, Katrina, Yvonne and Jean-René stayed in the queue and went through the palace.  Daryl and I had been there on a previous visit to France, so we went into the 'village' of Versailles to buy baguettes, several kinds of cheese, tomatoes, paté, ham and salad for a picnic lunch.  (I was very happy to get out of the hour-long queue!)

On our walk into the town of Versailles, we accidentally came across a memorial celebration  --  something to do with World War II.

 Ooo-la-la French hats

 There were clouds in the sky and no sheltered place to have our picnic lunch, so we went to a Versailles restaurant instead.

 All the picnic food came back to our apartment and we had dinner together.

Yvonne, Jean-René, Stéphane, Katrina, Daryl, David

It was great to see Yvonne and Jean-René again.  We hadn't seen them since our visit three years ago. We were glad to discover that we could communicate a little more effectively this time, but it seems we need another 20 years to master the French language!