We queued at Versailles

This is not the first time Vicki and I have been overseas together; we were travel buddies on my first transatlantic trip, *coughmumble* years ago. On that trip we went to London and among our other entertainments we went to the Wimbledon tennis tournament. It's possible to wait in line to get into the tournament if you are really patient and not too picky. As a reward you get in (hopefully) but you also get a sticker that says "I've Queued at Wimbledon." If it is raining you get a sticker that says "I've Queued in the Rain at Wimbledon."

As Bill Cosby would say, I told you that story so I could tell you this one. Today we went to the Palace of Versailles and queued for about an hour and a half to get in. Stickers were lacking but I think Versailles should consider it: "I Queued at Versailles." Of course, it was worth the wait. The palace is always amazing but today we also rented bikes and rode to the Grand Trianon and the Hamlet (somehow skipped the Petit Trianon--next time!). I had never seen those parts of the estate. The Hamlet is really beautiful!

By the way--it is worth taking your kid to Paris because kids get into a lot of the museums and national monuments, including Versailles, for free.

When we got back, we were totally done in and opted for a very glamorous French dinner of frozen pizza. I did manage to go out to a karaoke bar with Daniel later that night. In a funny coincidence, the second or third song we heard was "Georgia On My Mind." That guy could really sing, too! Daniel sang Charles Aznavour's "For Me Formidable," which is the perfect song for us because it's bilingual. It was fun to go out late at night--something I didn't do during the program since I usually had classes or excursions the next day. The karaoke bar, called Rive Droit, was right next to the Pompidou Center so we walked over so that Daniel could see it. It looks cool at night. I took a picture of the Niki de St. Phalle fountain nearby that everyone (of a certain age and background) knows from the old French In Action series.

It was time to turn in after a drink and a few songs. The next day--Friday--would be our last day in Paris.