Day 20

19 October 2022

Our last day at Versailles but check out is not until 12 noon. Very sensible.

After breakfast, again refusing eggs, but eating all the pastries, we had one more private outing. This time to the Petit Trianon. This was really the escape pad for Marie Antoinette and was where she stayed to be close to the village she had created nearby. This is the village we visited yesterday.

There is not a lot to say about the building, except that the tour gave us an insight into her existence which must have been very daunting for her as a 15 year old, and for someone who valued their privacy, but wasn’t allowed any at the Palace. Clearly, the Petit Trianon was her bolt hole away from prying eyes. However, this only fed the propaganda that she was aloof and not the Queen of the people.

Back at the hotel, we packed and said our goodbyes. A car had been arranged to take us on the next step of our journey. To Paris. Specifically, the Marais district and on a street that feeds into the Place des Vosges. We have not stayed in this area of Paris before, and we are looking forward to exploring it. We have done the usual Paris tourist routes before, so this time we can really explore and find whatever we think is interesting. We will follow our usual golden rule of “if it looks interesting let’s explore it”.

The trip into town took about an hour, but we were dropped right at the door of our AirBnB. The cleaner was still here and were able to drop our bags and wander off in search of lunch. Once we returned he had finished and was just waiting for us to show us around and explain the workings of the flat. It was terrific of him to do this, certainly saving us a bit of head scratching.

The flat is spacious, by French standards, and in a great location. We couldn’t be happier with the choice. You never know when booking online, and although the photos online made the place look a bit more “kept”, there is nothing we can see to complain about.

It is again unseasonably hot. The sun was streaming in the windows so it was down to T-shirts. Luckily, we have a washing machine and dryer, so we can restock our limited supply of cooler clothes.

Once we had unpacked we ventured out to the super-marches to stock up on essential supplies, boring stuff like wine and whisky. Oh, and we bought some food as well. It is steak and salad tonight in front of telly……can’t wait!! Tomorrow Paris.