Versailles

Sorry for the late postings- internet access isn't always readily available!

Our day began of course at the local bakery for breakfast. We then headed out on the RER train to Versailles. Before the main attraction, however, we had to rent a car. This was actually very easy, and we were upgraded to a car (a Citroen C5) with an automatic transmission (hard to come by and $$$ in Europe) and a GPS system for no extra charge. That should definitely help make things a little easier for the next week!

Since we were there on a weekend, Versailles had the fountains in the gardens on for an hour (for an extra charge, of course). The gardens were much larger than I thought they would be, and it was mostly comprised of a Harry Potter-esque hedge maze with fountains located in the center of each square. The gardens were much better with the fountains on; I don't think they would be nearly as impressive without them.

The castle itself was of course an incredible sight. The amount of money put into making everything as elaborate as possible was evident in the many carvings and ceiling paintings. We used the audio guides which definitely help in understanding how the different rooms were used.

After Versailles, it was time to drive to Bayeux, where we would be sleeping for the night. We stayed at the Château de Lignerolles, which was run by a couple from Holland who were excellent hosts. The rooms were in a house built in 1731, so there was a sink in the room but the bathroom was down the hall. We were definitely tired by the end of the day, so we went straight to sleep.