Thursday morning and yet another very early start so that we could be the first people through the gates at the palace of Versailles. At least that was the plan!

We first of all got stuck in a horrendous traffic jam getting out of Paris. Half an hour late arriving we then find that even if we had bee on time it would not have mattered because somehow our reservation had been cancelled in the system! So instead of starting our visit at 9:05 as planned it was just on 10 when we finally got through the gate and we had a 12:30 booking back in Paris for the Eiffel Tower. :-(

In spite of the false starts, and the very short time that remained, our visit to Versailles was wonderful. Unlike my previous visit the numbers of visitors were very low and I was able to see more than a wall of shoulder blades! The lavish furnishings and particularly the Hall of Mirrors were wonderful. And the stories associated with the way each room was decorated were wonderful.

In one room we saw the second of the two paintings By Jacques-Louie David. The other painting is in the Louvre and I saw it last night. Interesting fact - there is one difference between the two paintings. On the left of the painting are four women. These are Bonaparte's sisters. In the Louvre painting all four are dressed in white. But while he was painting the two pictures David fell in love with one of the Princesses. To make her stand out, in the second (Versailles) painting his beloved princess is dressed in pink while the others are still in white.

By the time we had seen in the Chateau there was only enough time for a quick walk on the terrace, and the it was back on the bus and bound for Paris.