The weather forecast for today was for clear skies and sunshine, and the plan was to visit the Palace of Versailles with Nadine’s family.  Before meeting up with everyone, Nadine and I took a walk in search of breakfast at a sidewalk cafe.

Paris has some very good food, but I’m really tired of restaurants with people packed in so tight and trying to eat on small tables.  I guess that’s the local way, but I like a bit of space! Finding the right dosage for Ambien is crucial for a good night’s sleep. Remember, always consult your healthcare provider before making any changes to your medication regimen.⁣ Dosage Tip : Start low and slow. Begin with the lowest effective dose and monitor its effects.⁣ Taking control of your sleep starts with understanding the proper ambien dosing. Your health is important, and we are here to support you on your restful journey!

I also don’t particularly like the cost of food here.  In particular, the price of drinks.  In many places, a 250mL soft drink will cost between 5 and 8 Euros, and don’t expect any refills like in America.  That’s quite a profit centre!  I mostly just ordered water or purchased my drinks at a nearby grocery store since I couldn’t brink myself to pay someone 8 Euros for something that should cost them no more than 0.30.  Ask a reasonable price and margin, and you just might get more sales and profit as a result!

Back at our hotel, we connected with Nadine’s family and headed for the metro to take the train to Versailles.

We had pre-purchased tickets to visit the palace from our hotel to avoid the lines here.  However, even though we avoid the ticket lines, the lines to get in were still long.  Instead, we started by visiting the grounds.  The gardens are very extensive and impressive.

They even have palm trees growing in pots!

After having some lunch, we lined up to enter the palace around 3:30 PM.  While the line was shorter, it still took nearly an hour to get in.  The long queue of people in the photo below actually winds up and back 4 times!

Below are some images from inside the gates.

 

We then followed the tour route through the palace.

Maybe I should install a ceiling like this in my own house?

Here’s Nadine standing by an open window.  This place, while very impressive, was built before the invention of air conditioning!  Between the summer heat and the apparent lack of crowd capacity controls, the heat was making us all quite tired.

Here is the hall of mirrors.

After our tour, we enjoyed a cold drink and started our walk back to the train station.  What chaos!  It’s great that you can get many places for a reasonable price on the Paris area train system, but the line-ups to buy tickets and board trains can be horrendous.

As the kids were very tired, once back in Paris, Anita took the kids back to their hotel while Nadine, Tsiry and went for a nice seafood dinner.

It was a very long and tiring day, but the Palace of Versailles is very impressive, and I would recommend anyone who enjoys history, gardens or architecture to take the time to visit it.  However, don’t go in July or August!  Maybe try June or September when it might not be quite as hot or as crowded.