This train took us all the way to the city of Versailles. Wandering out of the train station to face the palace is a whole another thing to see. The gold was astounding. Gold gates, gold walls, gold trim, gold statues, gold embellishments.... Gold. So much gold. Kalgoorlie would be jealous.
After a royal entrance through the palace gates, everything got a bit less regal when we arrived at the security counter. Passport photos will never match the artwork in the palace, so I really don't know why they wanted to see them.
Speaking of artwork, again, it was everywhere. Floors, ceilings, walls... Stories told through paint and canvas and concrete and marble... Again, beautiful, so much so that the heaving crowds could not even take away from its mystique. It was a lot to take in.
The palace, although beautiful, was treated by a general grumble throughout the tour. The grumble came from the stomachs of 33 hungry people. Now, as we had walked so far already today, Crofty decided that our sick and injured needed a break-Golf buggies.
We had never seen Mr Heptinstall so excited. The teachers and parents that had their drivers licences bolted for the buggy stand, and people were distributed evenly between them all, leaving only seven people still on foot. The lucky 27 became part of something much bigger - buggy races. Our reckless drivers took us on a scenic route to the gardens, and the competitive spirit was brought out in everyone involved. Tactics were used, laws were broken *cough* Leonie... It was an epic experience. The buggies were utilised again after a palace garden lunch, and were all in all a good investment.
After a few trains back, the tour suited up to head to the Arc de Triomphe for the special eternal flame ceremony. The wind whipped us and chilled us to the bone, but it was well worth the empowerment of stopping the 5 lanes of traffic on the busy Champs Elyssee roundabout. We marched into position under the arc, and dutifully sang both the Australian National Anthem (with Crofty on the mic) and the Le Marseille, and watched as our wreath bearers, Josh and Mason, lay our beautifully prepared wreath at the foot of the flame. Kelsey and Jordan were part of a chain of people to turn the dial on the flame, and ours truly became a part of a guard of honour at the end of the ceremony. It was a truly moving experience.
From here, we headed to our fabulous pizza parlour, where Dante ate raw meat (cue Brianna gagging), everyone else ate a selection of different meals from the menus that didn't contain raw meat, and Mason got not one, not two, not four but three birthday cakes to celebrate his special day.
Along with his multiple cakes, Mason was also serenaded by buskers and the tour on the way home via the metro. Our seamless voices complimented the talent of the buskers in the train.
After a quick trip to the Eiffel Tower at night to see it all lit up, the tour waddled up to bed for a well deserved sleep... Or so we thought!!!! See the next blog for more.
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