Missy's Blog: Versailles Part Deux

For the second day of my family tour, we decided to revisit Versailles on bicycles. The tour the kids and I did earlier this fall was so fantastic that Mom, Kelly, and Joanna wanted to go too. The company we first used was booked up and the weather was questionable so I didn't think it would work out but I found a competitor to Fat Tire (Bike Around Tours) and the weather started to look sort of ok, so we decided to go for it.
This tour started by meeting our group at Notre Dame. It was cold but completely clear and sunny. As we introduced ourselves to our guide and the two other riders, the bells of Notre Dame started ringing and I thought, what an auspicious start to our day. We took the train to Versailles and picked up our bikes right at the station. Our guide, Amber, was Dutch but had an Irish accent from her time spent in Dublin. She was such an adorable, funny, cool chick. AND she knew so much about Versailles. This guide knew her stuff and took us to places we didn't see on our first tour.
We began our day in the town of Versailles at the market so that we could gather picnic provisions. Then we went inside the Petit Trianon and walked through the grounds of the Hameau de la Reine (Marie Antoinette's fantasy/getaway farm). After the Hameau, the rain began and we were a little nervous about how the rest of the day would go. Amber told us that a picnic was not going to happen but that she knew of a cafe on the grounds that would let us use their heated, covered terrace for lunch if we ordered a few drinks. So the family, damp and frozen, huddled together and ate baguette sandwiches, wine, and apple tart. As we ate, the rain picked up even more and we were all wondering how bad this day was going to get. At that moment Amber reached in her sac and pulled out small plastic envelopes which contained disposable ponchos. Praise the Lord. We remounted our velos and headed back through the town of Versailles to the palace. Our guide told us that in her 2 years of tours, she had never seen the place so quiet. After a concise and easy audio tour of the spectacular palace, we rode back to the train station. We were exhausted but agreed that it was a most memorable journey and we didn't have the heat and crowds of the summer season.