Friday 10th

EuroDisney here we come.....and the rain has stopped. It turned out to be a really magnificient 22 degree day. We all enjoyed the various rides. Andy has more guts than the rest of us – he went on 2 rides that we wouldn’t even contemplate.
It was a wonderful day to wander around taking in the sights & atmosphere. It is amazing the way they have set everything up. Some of the rides were longer & in more detail than expected.
Trevor & I stayed to watch the parade as we hadn’t done this before. Rhiannon & Andy went on to check out other rides while they were quieter.

Thursday 9th

The rain has stopped so we have decided to get up early & head to Versaille. The 30 minute trip on the train was well worth it to see this magnificent palace built for Louis XIV.
All rooms in the palace are truly amazing with many paintings & sculptures. We viewed the kings rooms, queens rooms & the rooms of the Dauphin & Dauphines (princes & princesses) & the most famous room of all – The Mirrored Hall.
The Mirrored Hall was commissioned by Louis to show his wealth etc to the world. The room, filled with chandeliers & sculptures, runs along the entire front of the palace, overlooking the formal gardens, fountains & the canal that was formed in the shape of a cross. The view is then mirrored throughout the room by the wall of mirrors opposite. Many balls & formal occasions were held in this room.
The king himself did not live in the rooms furnished & allocated to him. He preferred to live in rooms adjoining the Mirrored Hall. He preferred the outdoors & his chosen bedroom faced the morning sun.
We hired a golf cart (a very slow one) to quickly tour the grounds & the smaller palace built for Marie-Antoinette. This palace was built to mirror the main palace on a smaller scale. It was built on 2 sections named the Grand Trianon & the Petite Trianon.
After resting our legs on the train back to Paris we visited Arc de Triomphe again. This time it was open & we climbed the 200+ stairs to the top for magnificient views of the city. Unfortunately once at the top we only had time for a short look as it started raining. I don’t think we were meant to enjoy this spot at all.