Three is the new Two: Final Paris entry

Tuesday, July 21, 2009

Final Paris entry - Versailles.

It's Versailles. There's not a lot to say about it that hasn't been said. The palace was beautiful, extravagant, a bit sickening in its excess, when you think about the fact that it was built on the taxes and backs of a lot of wretched, poverty stricken people. The thousands of people filing through with us didn't seem to mind. I think luxury is like opium sometimes. It lulls you into thinking the rest of the world and it's suffering isn't right outside the door. That's the only explanation I can come up with, anyway.

Anyhow. Once we got out to the grounds, and could breathe again, I was amazed by the beauty and precision with which the experience had been manufactured. The sun was shining, the fountains were going, and even though there were literally thousands of people visiting the grounds that day, it didn't feel like it. My favorite part? Well, I loved Le Petit Trianon, and I adored La Hameau de la reine, but my favorite had to be the Grand Canal. We waited in line, left a drivers license, and hopped nimbly (read crawled awkwardly) into a real life rowboat. With real life giant oars. With which we were supposed to navigate the Grand Canal. It really was fun, once we got the hang of the rowing. And by we, I mean Shawn. I didn't row. I felt it was my civic responsibility to recreate a life like scene, so I simply reclined in the boat and allowed my husband the joy of rowing us around. For like an hour. Loved it.

The next day, we got up early, got on a plane, and headed back to reality. And trust me, reality moved right in and took a seat, in the form of two bratty french kids who kicked my seat for ELEVEN HOURS while their parents put on their sleeping masks and took a snooze.

But the beauty of a trip like this one is that we remembered something very important. We remembered why we decided to get married 10 years ago. (And the fact that both were content to eat our way across Paris is definitely in the top five reasons.) But probably pushing the number one spot is the fact that we have so much fun together. We like to just hang out and do stuff together. And although we love the new dynamic that a family of five has created, we remembered that we also once loved being a family of two.

from the train