It doesn’t really get very light till after 7.30am, and so we enjoyed lingering over the buffet breakfasts at the hotel . Coffee, croissents, bagguettes, ham and cheese, yoghurt, juice and fruit. And no children to have to wipe up after, gather drinks for or argue with. Very pleasant all round.

My agenda today was to get to Versailles as early as possible to avoid the crowds and queues. Got my train and changed over to the country line and it took about 45 mins to got there. Pretty town and a nice walk from the station to the Royal Palace built by Louis the 14th. You can’t miss it. Gold gold and more gold greets your eyes. Part of the palace was under restoration (as if most of Paris), but I went in, purchased my ticket in French, and then made my way to the start of the tour to get my Audio Guide. These were great and I managed to get them wherever I went. As I was alone and there are no free guided tours they were good to tap into the historic facts, otherwise I would not have known what was what.

I think the things that amazed me the most was the lavish and exorbitant accessories. These people must have been seriously rich, but the country was poor, so i can just imagine why the Revolution occurred! Built by Louis 13th as a summer home and hunting grounds, it was expanded by Louis 14th who bought the entire government to work there, and Louis 15th lived there till the revolution. Opulence is the word of the day here. Everything is over the top and extravagant, but beautiful and amazing all the same. The gardens were gorgeous and I had a long walk around the many acres of it. ‘Tis a lonely world in the eyes of a solo traveller and I was starting to feel the pinch, so I headed back into Versailles and window shopped, ate pastries and drank coffee while watching the French go by. I got my train back into Paris, did a bit more window gawking/meandering around in the sidestreets till late in the afternoon then went back to the hotel to wait for Justin to get home. After a quick nap he was home and hustling me to get ready to go out with the boys.

His course group were a funny lot. 2 Belgians, a Spaniard and the French Teacher. After drinking the hugest beers I have ever seen, we made our way to a French Restaurant where we sat inside away from the passing public. The menu was entirely in French and a few blackboard specials were mentioned, so I just said I would have one of those. The French teacher was trying to translate the meal, and was like…”Ow you say….it is Son of Cow”. Meaning Veal! How I laughed, ordered in anyway and it was delicious. After dinner we went to a bar had a few more drinks and took our weary feet home at nearly midnight. Those Belgians were so funny and Justin really had a great rapport with them. It was a fun experience.

Next up Friday, Day 4….