Another reason why I selected Paris, I had never been to Versailles.  All of my Paris trips have been relatively short for some reason.  I knew Sunday would be all about the palace and grounds.  There was a 60% chance of rain, but Sunday morning was beautiful.  After a banana and nutella crepe and a dr pepper for breakfast, I took the train ride out to Versailles.

 

 

It really didn't take me long to get through the cue (maybe 20 mins), but I would hate to see it in a busy summer month.

 

A model of the first building on the grounds, a hunting lodge.  This is a little different than the hunting lodges I saw growing up in the South.

 

The next expansion...

 

The ceilings were amazing.

 

And about that crowd, this was the view going into the Hall of Mirrors.  It was a little crowded, but I have seen worse at other tourist areas.

 

One of the disappointments was that most of the fountains were not constantly active, but who cares, the grounds were amazing and I definitely got my walking in for the day.

 

It was a beautiful fall day, but then the rain finally hit.  I took it all in stride.  Heck, I was in Paris.

 

Headed toward Marie Antoinette's house. 

 

The summer house on the same grounds.  When the government was moved to Versailles, a summer house had to be constructed to escape.  I need a summer house. 

 

Even with all the rain, I spent about 9 hours touring Versailles and enjoyed every minute of it.  I took a train back, dropped off my backpack and then set out for a dinner in Paris.  I didn't mean to, but I settled in at an Irish pub where I made friends with some Americans studying abroad and a couple from Ireland.  We all set around drinking and playing trivia until too late for someone that had a morning flight on Monday. 

 

But the travel was fine, I made my flight with plenty of time.  Even with the very limited sleep on the trip, I still didn't sleep on the flight home. 48 hours in Paris was a big success.  I spent less money than I would have going to the beach for a weekend and it will be a trip I remember forever.  And about turning 40?  I can hardly wait to see where I travel to in the next decade after all the great trips of the last decade.  As far as 40, it is just a number.  I am not sure some 20 year olds could keep up with me and the way I like to go.