Paris - Day 3 (finally!)

Our last day in Paris was actually spent outside the big city at the castle of Versailles. The site began as Louis XIII’s hunting lodge, but was transformed into a palace of immense proportions by his son, Louis XIV. We arrived in the morning to try to beat Versailles’ notorious crowds and found it virtually deserted (as far as Versailles goes). After a moment of elation at the lack of lines, we were informed that the castle was not open due to a strike by the palace workers. Welcome to France; 35-hour work weeks and 37 days paid vacation (the US has 13) apparently wasn’t enough. The guard told us that the workers were trying to reach an agreement and that the castle might open after lunch. We decided to tour the gardens until lunch and then head back if the castle was still closed. The gardens of Versailles were absolutely amazing! Started in 1661, the gardens were not fully finished until 40 years later! Fifty fountains, 200,000 trees, and hundreds of statues cover 800 hectares (not sure exactly how much that is, but it’s a lot- trust me). I thought I’d be a bit bored wandering the gardens for 3 hours, but it was truly breathtaking! And there weren’t even that many flowers yet! I felt like I was in a Jane Austin novel as I wound through the paths (continually getting lost) and in and out of cozy walkways. Doubtful as we were that the castle was going to open, we figured we would check just in case and to our wonderful luck it was! Well, partially…haha…I guess the strike was only partially resolved because we were only able to see a portion of the castle. We did get a free audio tour out of the deal, so that was really nice. The rooms that we saw in the castle were incredible! Isaiah loved the castle- he was traveling in my baby Bjorn carrier and supposed to be sleeping, but he was awake and loving it the whole time!

The gates of Versailles- the ones that were stormed when the people of France were starving and the royalty was living in opulence.

Isaiah had a great time trying to eat Ben's hair.

Hanging on for dear life!

My two favorite fountains.

A warning sign at a top of the hill in the gardens...I was a bit skeptical, so tried letting Isaiah's stroller go free a bit and it definitely started to roll...haha...good thing I saw the sign :)

The famous hall of mirrors.

Ben's pizza with an egg on top.

Two cute pictures of Isaiah and Ben.