Walking passed a giant statue of Louis XIV on his horse I caught my first glimpse of the magnificent palace and its gold covered gates. After waiting about thirty minutes in line I spent the next hour and a half wandering through the different wings of the 580 meter long palace. No detail was left out in both the creation and decoration of this enormous chateau. Everything seemed to be meticulously designed and created from the brightly tiled floors, textured walls, to the beautiful paintings that adorned both the walls and the ceilings.
The included audio guide provided information about seemingly every piece of art, furniture, views from the windows, as well as a brief history lesson about the French Monarchy of the time. Making my way out to the gardens I was treated to a beautiful view of hedgerows, lakes, fountains, and forest. I don’t know how much land the palace sits on, and still can’t even process it enough to even make a guess. After making my way past statue after statue, perfectly trimmed rows of grass, and beautiful fountains, I found a nice spot to enjoy yet another tasty baguette and bottle of water, before wandering into the actual gardens themselves. I spent over four hours in total at the Chateau de Versailles and to be honest could have spent three days there and probably still not seen everything!
Absolutely spectacular. Arriving back at my hostel I relaxed and took a shower as I got ready for the much anticipated show at THE Moulin Rouge. Deciding that this was a once in a lifetime experience I decided to purchase the ticket for the 7:30 show that included a four course meal, a half bottle of wine, and the show itself. After checking my coat, the host escorted me to my seat, which to my complete shock (and happiness) was directly center stage and only about ten seats from the front row. How I got so lucky, I have no clue, but I wasn’t about to ask if they had made a mistake. To continue with my good fortune seated, with me at this table of six was five girls from California who were celebrating a bachelorette party. Kidding. In reality, directly across from me was an extremely nice and well traveled older gentleman from Canada, whose wife had passed a couple years prior and decided to take himself traveling. To my right was a very fun and friendly couple from England and their two beautiful daughters. We spent the entire dinner portion of the evening sharing stories about traveling, life, entertainment, and of course FOOD! The first course for me was fois groe ravioli’s in a succulent broth, followed by smoked and seared duck breast that was incredible but somehow outdone by the lamb rack that followed. A meal in The Moulin Rouge would not be complete without some delicious stinky cheese and decadent dessert. As this final course arrived I asked my server if he could pair a glass of wine with my dessert, and he quickly returned with yet another glass of earthy French red wine. Shortly after finishing the meal the show began. Obviously pictures are not allowed in the theatre so I cannot share with you the true magnificence of the show, but I will say that it easily rivaled any Vegas show I have seen, and definitely blew away the Bette Midler show my dad once took me too.
After the show I went for one last walk around the town and happily headed back to the hostel to pack my bags and get ready to make my way back home. Well, sort of home… back to Ischia, the small island in Italy that I lived on some seven years ago. Yes Angie, I said it, seven years ago.
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