Chateau de Versailles

First palace of BB's life! I was excited about taking the boy who lives in his own fantasy bubble to the magnificent palace in Versailles. Our apartment is very close to RER C access but the metro line near our house is shut for renovations. The guy at the metro station was particularly helpful and I'm so proud that I could converse with him in French without sounding like an idiot (or so I think). Anyway, here we were an hour later.

To say that Versailles was swarming with humanity would be an understatement. I think the world is getting overcrowded. There's hardly a place devoid of the hordes or of selfie sticks. And so we jostled with thousands first to gain entry and then to be able to take in any of the palace chambers, tapestries, and paintings. The heat only compounded the madness as we flowed with the streams towards the famed Hall of Mirrors. As you can see, it was tough getting a single photo without a someone's head or butt or elbow walking into the frame.

After two hours of gawking at the luxuries in the life of Louis XIV, we were ready to get some fresh air in the gardens. Vast is a word too small to describe this sprawling estate. I wish the fountains had been turned on for this hot summer day. We wondered how Louis XIV got around. BB promptly said by horse carriages, of course. I wondered how he got around that palace without getting exhausted. I'm sure kings had their way!

A happy lunch later, we were on our way back to Paris!