Saturday, September 16 - Palace of Versailles

My first draft somehow got deleted due to operator error.  I will attempt another but much briefer.  We walked from the hotel to where we thought the tour group was to meet but spent some time figuring this out.  Our tour guide Momo was quite a character, very engaging and personable. He gave a brief history of the palace and off we went by golf cart to explore the surrounding gardens and fountains.  There were four fountains depicting the four seasons.  Back in the time of the king there were whistle boys whose job was to turn on the fountains right before the king arrived and then run on to do the same for the next one the king would come to.  All the water used in the fountains and such had to come via aqueduct from Paris.  It was all very impressive. We then moved on to the bicycle portion of the tour that explored the outer regions of the palace grounds.  This included Marie Antoinette's getaway compound including her home, extensive gardens and hiking paths, 12 houses for guests and a farm.  This was my favorite.  We also explored the summer house and why they needed one is beyond me.  Scott mentioned that Tom Petty must have written his song, It is Good to be King, after visiting this place.  The palace itself was so crowded we rushed through not paying much mind to the detail.  We then met up with the Hagelins and had dinner.  They had come over from Paris for the day and after dinner ubered back to Paris. 

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