Day 24 Paris and Versailles

We had breakfast at the cafe across the road and raced out to catch the metro to Versailles, skirting Notre Dame Cathedral as we went. When I studied 18th Century French History all those years ago I didn't dream that one day I would be standing where those momentous events took place. The journey out of the city took about half an hour and it was an opportunity for people watching. I was particularly struck by the young Asian tourists... dressed up to the nines, make up and sunnies. It was almost like an informal photo shoot. Even the little Asian kids with their parents had the designer clobber on. Johnny and I dressed for comfort. When we got to the Versailles station, we asked a guard for directions to the toilets. He pointed out the Mcdonalds across the road. We and a few hundred other people headed for Mcdonalds. We thought this was something that needed improvement. We expected long queues at Versailles so we were not really troubled by the hour wait in a kilometre long line.It was just as well that one of us stayed in line and the other went to suss things out. if we got to the front of the line without going to another kiosk for tickets, we would have been turned away and had to start all over again. The signage was appalling and there were no staff to direct people as they arrived. One woman got separated from her child by an officious ticket inspector. The mum nearly went crazy when she saw her child being pushed forward by the crowd. The ticket inspector just dug in till a foreign tour guide stepped forward to translate. People in the line were generally patient and good natured. The interior and exterior spaces were amazing but the last word has to go to John. After the fourth massive boudoir he declared it all "ä bit over the top" I think that was the whole point. off with their heads! it was a pretty amazing place, but Dubai had a much better dancing fountain.We had lunch in the palace, where lunch rooms had been set aside for both people who had bought from the kiosks and those who had brough food in with them. There was even a microwave for people who wanted to heat up anything. We thought it was very thoughtful. The crowds were enormous even though it was not high season. We opted not to have an audio guide as we realized that though it gives great information, it slows down our progress considerably. At one stage Johnny and I began to walk across the grass. All hell broke loose. Guards started to blast us with whistles and other tourists shouted "get off the grass". There was no sign so how were we supposed to know. We recovered our composure with some of the best ice cream we have ever had. In the train carriage on the return to Paris, half the people were asleep. the whole day was wonderful but exhausting. We had a short rest back at the hotel before going out to what was billed as excellent French traditional fare at Gaspard De La Nuit. Apparently its hangout popular with people from the fashion and music industry.