Paris – Day 4

Day 4 Intinerary: Versailles, Musée du quai Branly

We got an early start this morning to avoid some of the crowds at Versailles. We arrived in Versailles after about a 45 minute train ride from Paris. We had to wait a few minutes in the security line but otherwise our entrance was fairly quick (thank you museum pass). We decided not to join an organized tour so we ploughed through the rooms in the Château with our trusty guidebook providing the commentary. We saw the King’s apartments, the Queen’s apartments, council rooms, reception rooms and the Hall of Mirrors. Everything was so ornate it was amazing. We then toured some of the gardens and wandered down the colonnade to the Apollo Basin with the incredible fountain of Louis XIV (as Apollo of course) emerging from the water in his horse drawn chariot.

We headed back to Paris at around noon. After the success of the previous night’s picnic on the Champs de Mars we figured we’d log our daily required number of minutes staring at the Eiffel Tower by having a baguette sandwich lunch in the park at the base of the tower.

After lunch we visited the Musée du quai Branly which displays artefacts from Oceania, Africa, Asia and the Americas. We found this museum very interesting especially in contrast to the Baroque excess of Versailles. Some of the embroidery just as impressive as the brocade bed covers in the King’s formal bedroom.

We were back at our hotel a little earlier than usual so I took the opportunity to log a 5 mile run through the Champs de Mars. For dinner we went to a sidewalk cafe that Rick Steves calls “the living room of the Rue Clar district.” Then we went across the street and bought pastries for dessert – one chocolate tart and one fruit tart. Delicious. When Mom and Allison were in Paris a couple years ago they had crêpes everyday. Mom and I did have crêpes once but we were much more focused on eating Parisian pastries!