The girls were excited to see him on Saturday morning. We enjoyed a nice breakfast and he took them to the patisserie for pastries. We walked to the train station at Invalides and took the RER-C to Versailles. We turned right out of the train station and then left on the main boulevard. A light snow had fallen in the night. The girls enjoyed walking in the snow as we approached Versailles. We just had to buy a ticket for Rich - entrance to the palace for me was free because of the Museum Pass. In the winter, entrance to the gardens/grounds is free to the public. We took the girls to the WCs upon arrival before touring The Chateau through the King's Wing, the Hall of Mirrors and the Queen's Wing. Kate enjoyed hiding behind the draperies and playing hide & seek with Elisabeth. But, Elisabeth was more interested in walking with Rich through the galleries and taking photos with her camera.
We ate lunch at one of the restaurants on the grounds of Versailles. After lunch we took a mini-train to visit the Canal and the Palace Gardens, the Grand Trianon Palace, and the Petit Trianon. The train was the perfect mode of transportation for a 4 and 6 year old. Rich and I enjoyed the break as well. At the Petit Trianon we enjoyed a chocolate chaud at Angelina's, a famous restaurant founded in 1903 on Rue de Ravioli in Paris. The chocolate chaud was incredibly thick and tasted like a melted candy bar! Elisabeth and Kate loved it. Their smiling faces were covered in chocolate and they had dribbles of chocolate on their pink Lands End coats. They were running around the Domaine de Marie-Antoinette - what a sight!
After the tour we took the girls for a quick trip to the WCs before walking back to the train station to take the RER-C to Invalides. We ate dinner at 5pm at the local "football" brasserie. Elisabeth and Kate wanted to watch the Olympics and ice skating on the television (Kate said she wants to be a figure skater in the Olympics when she grows up!). Unfortunately, it was a Saturday and the Olympics were replaced on the TV with a rugby match. Elisabeth and Kate enjoyed hearing Rich describe the rugby strategy.
