July 24: Paris with Siobhan in spirit

Sally, Sue, Wendy

My blogs are usually about our large group events and activities and I don't tend to write about the smaller group gatherings but I think this trip warrants its own little corner..

Siobhan, Sue and I had a little wish list of things we wanted to do together and places we wanted to visit. We managed to do many of them but Paris and Versailles were still on our 'to do' list so Sue and I decided that we needed to do it - with Sally. We thought that it would be therapeutic for the three of us so we told Sally what we were doing (told not asked 🤣) and luckily she agreed that it would be good for us. So off we went.

Monday 1 July 

We met down in London ready for an early start on Eurostar.

Tuesday 2 July 

After a couple of hours we arrived in Gare du Nord, dropped our bags at the left luggage and set off for an explore. 

Siobhan came too. 

We walked more than we intended to - partly because there was so much to see and partly because of the many detours we had to take with the preparations for the Olympics..

 .. scaffolding and seating being erected, roads blocked off, huge 'villages' being built etc, etc.

Then it was back to the station to pick up the luggage and take the train out to our Airbnb at Sceaux..

.. a spacious flat which was part of a beautiful big house just over the road from the pedestrianised shopping street. 

It was very French with boulangerie, patisserie, epicerie, boucherie, fromagerie - all the 'erie' shops from our school girl beginner French lessons 🤣 - interspersed with interesting boutiques and little cafes and restaurants. 

No surprise that we were there every day to look at the fresh bread, variety of lovely cheeses etc.. 😁

Wednesday 3 July

Another early morning to take the train to the Palace of Versailles. 

First stop - a second breakfast.

Then the security breach..

.. and the courtyard that Sue was marched across when the security man discovered the offending article in her luggage.. 🤣🤣🤣

The Palace of Versailles started as a small hunting lodge built by Louis XIII. It was expanded by Louis XIV who moved the court and government there giving it huge prominence and importance.

During the French Revolution of 1789 the royal family moved back to Paris and the palace was largely abandoned for a while.

The views from the windows were fabulous.

.. and the rooms were sumptuous.

Even the detailing on the armour for the horses was quite exquisite.

Then we went out into the grounds.

So much to see - we only covered a fraction of it.

We stopped at the Grand Trianon for a picnic with the infamous knife 😁

The Grand Trianon was built in the Palace grounds as somewhere to enjoy a little respite from court life - and for privacy and relaxation for Louis XIV and his mistress Madame de Maintenon.

The Petit Trianon was commissioned by Louis XV to afford privacy for him and his mistress Comtesse du Barry. 

Queen Marie-Antoinette added a quaint rustic styled model village which was called the Queen's Hamlet. 

All of the Trianon estate is very different to the formality of the Palace of Versailles.

We walked back to the boating lake and Sally took us on a sedate row. 

The fountains only operate at the weekend but this one was switched on briefly as we walked away from it.

A last look back at the beautiful light on the golden roof as we made our way to the train station.

We walked 9 or 10 miles over the course of the day - different statistics on different gadgets 😁

We were shattered but what a fabulous day!

Thursday 4 July 

A slightly more leisurely and laid back morning making our way into Paris - until it wasn't 😁

With calm and phone restored we continued on our way - towards Sally's mystery destination.

 

Mystery destination revealed - Musée de l'Orangerie to see Claude Monet's Water Lilies 🤩

These were painted between 1916 and 1926 and given to France to symbolise peace after WWI. 

Just amazing! 😍

A fabulous treat - thank you Sally.

More wandering.

The obligatory cake and coffee stop.

Then more walking along the Seine.

We walked around the outside of Notre Dame looking at the great restoration work.

It was lovely to see the acknowledgements to all the people who had worked on the rebuilding - everyone beautifully photographed in black and white.

Siobhan would have particularly appreciated the necessity and inclusion of good ropes!. 😁

The sky was blue and the evening was warm  so we sat with the other tourists on the scaffolded benches admiring Notre Dame in all its sunlit glory. 

Perfect end to a busy couple of days.

Friday 5 July 

It was time to catch the train back from Gare du Nord towards London and home. 

We had a wonderful few days remembering our dear friend and taking her with us on our travels round Versailles and Paris. She would have loved - and approved - of all the silliness and escapades.. 💕🥰

BUT..

it's not over..

We have unfinished business in Paris and Versailles!.

There was too much to see so we need to go back - maybe with more schoolies next time? 👍😁

We want to visit Versailles again to see more of it (using the electric buggies which can be hired in the grounds - only discovered this time when it was too late to use them 🙄) - and we want to go to Giverny to see Monet's beautiful home and gardens which gave him so much inspiration for his painting. 

I think I can feel another schoolie trip coming on.. 😁🤣👍

Au revoir Paris.. 😘