Versailles and a Christmas market in Paris: Day 2 (part 1)

 November 23rd was a cold, damp, and windy day. I took the RER C to Versailles, the closest station to the palace.  The train ride to Versailles is an hour.  Much to my dismay,  the train has no bathrooms!!

 Snow was still on the ground in Versailles, and the palace was crowded. I can only imagine how worse the crowds are in the summer. The Hall of Mirrors was breathtakingly beautiful.  

I am not a tall person.  I held my camera as high as I could in the Hall of Mirrors.  

I closed my eyes to imagine the gardens and the fountains in warm weather.  

My ticket included Petit Trianon.  At the last minute, I decided to skip the estate as it is a 25-minute walk each way.   It was too cold and icy.   I bought the guidebook, and there are many photos.   A shuttle between Versailles and Petit Trianon might be a good idea.  

There are several places to eat at the Chateau.  I had lunch at Angelina's Tea Roo, After visiting the gardens, I wandered into the Grand Café d'Orleans and ordered a hot chocolate.  The young man handed me the steaming, can't-wait-to-drink delicious liquid delight.  I offered the young man my credit card to pay, but he did not take it.  He smiled and said, "Enjoy."  I responded: "Merci beaucoup!"

https://en.chateauversailles.fr/discover/history/key-dates/hot-chocolate-versailles

I bought two books in the palace's store:  Visit Versailles (Official Guide) and Versailles in Private/Versailles privé.  The latter book, written by Nicholas B. Jacquet, is in French and English.

I left Versailles shortly before the doors closed at 5:30 p.m.  On the way back to the train station, I stopped in a souvenir shop where I bought a new pair of gloves (one is somewhere at Versailles), a matching scarf (Pink), and a Versailles keyring that I turned into a Christmas ornament. The bill was under $20.00.  That scarf kept me warm the rest of the night as I took the train back to Paris and a walk through the Christmas market at the Tuileries  -- and that will be another post.

https://en.chateauversailles.fr/

Books about the Chateau de Versailles.

https://royalbooknews.blogspot.com/2024/12/books-on-versailles.html