Weekend in Versailles

Two weekends ago we drove to Versailles to spend the weekend with Tom's cousin Anne Laure (sister of Sophie).  They live in a very nice home right next to Versailles, so it was convenient both for visiting Paris and Versailles. 

Friday afternoon we walked around the Versailles gardens.  We decided not to go inside the palace (pictured above) but instead visit several smaller buildings on the grounds.  

This is the Apollo fountain.

 

Anne Laure with Gary and Genia.

 

Much of the shrubbery was ornately trimmed.  Gary liked this one in particular.

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Here is the garden side of the Grand Trianon.  This is where the king lived while the palace was being built.  Charles DeGaulle had an office here.  The Emporor Napoleon lived here.  Below are some pictures from inside.

This is a beautiful large marble checkerboard walkway between buildings. 

In the center of it were the Imperial Flowers, a special exhibit of ornately grown Chrysanthemums

Here you can see how one giant plant grows out of a single stem in the middle.

This is the Petit Trianon, a more modest but still very extravagant building. This is where Marie Antoinette held her court.

This is a thatched roof peasant house that Marie Antoinette created for her farm, called the Queen's Hamlet.  We watched the Marie Antoinette movie that night by Sofia Copolla - worth checking out! 

Saturday we took a bus tour of Paris. Here we are on the Champs Elyse approaching l'Arc de Triomphe.

 

The Palais Garnier, or Paris Opera House, which was recently refurbished.

 

Notre Dame cathedral.  As with many locations around Paris, the lines to get in were exceedingly long, so we decided just to tour the outside.

 

 Genia on the Seine.
 

A view of the Grand Palais, which was built for the 1900 World's Fair, the same exposition for which the Eiffel Tower was built.  The huge glass dome was recently rebuilt.

And, of course, the Eiffel Tower!

 

















Sunday we took a tour around a charming little area along the Seine outside of Versailles. 

 

Genia's favorite part of the weekend was the horse show we went to the King's Stable at Versailles on Sunday, at a location called the Academy of Equestrian Arts.  This was founded by Bartabas 10 years ago.  Unfortunately, we were not allowed to take pictures during the show, but it was quite a spectacle!  Below is one of the outdoor riding rings.

 

Genia was able to take these pictures from the bathroom before the show.

Here we are before the show.

Drawings of horses on the wall in the theater.

After the show, we were able to visit the stables.

 

Instead of wooden trunks, they used baskets.

This is performer taking care of her horse.  
They put on these cool skirts to keep warm and clean.

This weekend we head to the airport to pick up Genia's parents.

And do a little more of Paris.

Our Brittany Vacation, Week Two, Part Two

After St. Malo we went inland to the nearby city of Dinan. This was a partially walled city, with an incredibly charming older town, with many timbered medieval homes.  Even back in medieval times this city attracted many visitors doing pilgramages.  

Genia and Gary at a main gate to the ramparts, followed by pictures of them walking along a particularly scenic street that lead down to the river.

Our home for two nights, found through airbnb.  It was very charming, on the third floor.  Our favorite stay of the trip.

The view from our front window.  That's Tom waving hello next to our illegally parked Fiat and the creperie we ate at.

The view from our kitchen window of the medieval village bell tower.  There are only two left in France - one in this town, and one in Fougers, that we visited the next day. 

The gothic cathedral in the village, followed by an interesting house with a cat.

A mailbox in the old section of town, followed by some more town pictures.

Arriving at the riverfront after having walked through the old section of town, we found a bustling late afternoon scene.  After are some pictures from the top of the ramparts, looking over the old bridge.

Now we are at Fougers, another city with a medieval castle. 

We ate at this creperie twice. One woman did everything waited on tables cooked and washed the dishes the restaurant sat about 20 people.

Every time Genia orders at a restaurant it is somethings different here a curry shrimp crepe. Tom and Gary always order the same thing. 

Now we are in Mt. St. Michel.  We had a glorious sunny day.  They have made a lot of changes since the last time we visited 14 years ago.  At that time, we drove to the base of the island, and parked on the tidal flats.  That created problems with sedimentation building around the island, and it would have eventually become part of the mainland.  To solve this, they eliminated the parking at the base of the island, and build a beautiful new causeway and bridge.  We parked on the mainland, and took a shuttle out.  On the way back, we walked the entire distance.  (2.4 km). 

Below is a ship inside the cathedral.  It is customary in churches near the ocean to have a model ship hanging inside.  The purpose is to keep the ship safe at sea. 

Gary admiring the vista from the top.

Another view from the top.  If you look carefully, you can see Genia and Rex on the bench in the lower right.  (dogs were not allowed on the tour)