Versailles Chateau & Le petit Trianon

Since in 1986 we had had an unforgettable official dusk and evening visit to Versailles, we decided to make a return, but with emphasis on the quarters of Marie Antoinette. We found on arrival that the tour we picked allowed only an hour there, not nearly enough time, as the buildings are widely spaced and we had a little difficulty finding our way from the petit Trianon to the Hamlet, and the Grand Trianon was not practicable.

The pond held large schools of large carp plainly enjoying a good life for a carp, and the hamlet was certainly as rustic as a peasant village probably never was.

We were then conducted to two hour tour of  the Chateau and its gardens. Security was at airport level (X-rays, men with guns),  and there seemed to be more people there than at the main international airports. The solid crush of humanity oozing through the rooms, punctuated by guide flags and pom-poms , and phones on sticks, was an experience. The grounds were beautiful in flower near the palace, the vistas extended not quite as we remembered them from before, since that late afternoon all the fountains had been conditioning the Spring air.