Day off

Two more days. I am in the final stretch. Sunday we had a “day off”. So, my day pretty much started the same as always. Breakfast with Louis at 8am (we are the only two in the stage staying and eating here). Then off to the studio where I continued highlighting. Lunch with Louis at 12:30pm.



However, I did take a break and went to the palace for a bike ride. I think this is the best kept secret about the of Versailles. As I surfed the net before the my trip, it seems many recommend this activity. You can rent a bike and bike all over the grounds (but, not in the garden). What they don’t tell you is that the grounds of palace are much more extensive than most people realize and you have access to it and can get all around it (sort of) on a bike. It is a great outing and fun for kids.



What’s more is that it breaks up the walking. There is a long walk from the palace to the Grand and Petite Trianon. Rick Steve says that the walk is half the fun, but if you have kids or sore feet like I did, a bike ride would be a welcome break (I didn’t feel an additional 30-40 minutes of walking both ways was that fun- Monica and I decided to walk it. You have already spent some 3 hours on your feet what with the walk from the train station, security and the palace tour not to mention the garden if you do that first and then you are back on your feet at the grand and petite trianon).



It’s sort of expensive, but you take out the bike and you pay for the amount of time you use the bike by the half hour. They have kid and adult bikes and it was like 5.5 E to begin with and then 1 E each additional half hour bringing it up to 6.5 for me. 12 E for 4 hours and like 15 for the whole day- 8 hours. Anyway, if you buy a museum pass (which everyone ought to), you are not paying admission to the main part of the tour which is the palace and Marie Antoinette’s chateau. The gardens may or may not cost you it seems. Kids are free at like most of the other museums and sights in Paris. Well, since Monica and I didn’t get to bike ride when we went to the palace (our plans were foiled by the rain and threat of rain), I decided to take a ride today. If you don’t do the tours, you can still enter the palace grounds and explore for free. Joggers seem to like the park. Anyway, the side entrance that has the most recommended bike rental site- they are all the same company- is about a 10 minute walk from where I am staying. The rental place was right by the entrance. I hopped on the bike, gave my driver’s license as security for the bike and was off. The grounds are extensive and very picturesque. There are horses and cows in the meadows. You get a sense of what it was like driving around in a carriage or riding a horse through the place. The grounds were meant to be viewed at a faster than walking, but slower than driving pace. Of course, if you close your eyes and try to imagine what it was like you would veer off the narrow bike trails or kill someone who is walking on the main drags. It was great and I could have spent at least another hour or two, easily.


Especially with a picnic lunch (some of the bikes have baskets) and time to sit and relax- you could spend a whole afternoon. I only saw one side of the grounds. Anyway, I had promised St. Jean I would only ride for an hour. Piece of advice- track where you are riding on a map of the place. And, if you have back problems don't try this. There are some bumpy parts to navigate and the rest is unpaved, which is better, but still has some unevenness.



I will be missing the blessing of the icons, because Pere Igor moved the benediction service to Wednesday night from Tuesday night. In some ways, it works better for me, because I can leave earlier on Tuesday and maybe have a decent dinner. The food here has been mediocre I have to say- and I am being generous*. But, that has been my experience at pensions generally. In addition, fresh fruits and vegetables always seem scarce at these places. At this point, if they served a large salad with crisp lettuce and fresh vegetables, I would kiss each person there and look for a hidden camera. The temptation to go out and eat increases each day- nay each hour. It’s hard for me not to eat meals at the h’ermitage because they are paid for already and it is convenient. Alex would have been out of there tonight in a heartbeat. Tomorrow, I am going to see if a market has a salad to go and eat it with lunch or dinner. I am looking forward to being home.

*as a side note, this weekend’s meals were the worst because everyone took off and they just left us food to heat up. Something is wrong with the refrigerator, so everything was frozen solid. And, this was food that was not meant to be frozen, like lettuce and tomatoes. Blah!