Louis Vuitton Lives at the Palace of Versailles? And Other Things I Learned in France.

While traveling in France my husband and I decided to book a Versailles cycling tour. Imagine the perfect day of cycling through Paris, carrying your bicycle onto the train to the city of Versailles, buying picnic ingredients at an authentic french market and then enjoying your picnic in Versailles gardens before touring the palace. The hall of mirrors, where the Treaty of Versailles was signed, had been closed for cleaning and recently reopened. We stood in the exact square where the rioters had stood when Marie Antionette had addressed the crowd from the balcony and allegedly spoke the words “then let them eat cake”. We even timed our tour so perfectly that we were there on one of the two days per week that they turn on the fountains. It was truly magical. 

Enter ultra blonde, designer clad, couple from Hollywood with fake tans and fake who knows what else. They were obviously much cooler than the rest of us and, as part of our group, they immediately established how ‘special’ they were. Of course they could not be bothered to carry their bicycles up or down the stairs, the guide had to do that for them. And they naturally could not be inconvenienced with having to shop for their own picnic at the market. No, they went to McDonald’s. While they were eating their McD’s and we were enjoying a rotisserie chicken, french baguette, mustard, brie, wine and pastries our tour guide was giving us a history lesson on the royal family and french revolution. 

As our guide put it, to summarize the french history lesson in one sentence, Louis the XIV built the palace of Versailles (or at least renovated it), Louis the XV enjoyed the palace and Louis the XVI, along with his wife Marie Antoinette, paid for it with their heads. It was at this point in our history lesson that Ms. Hollywood looked up from her McDonald’s and asked “When did Louis Vuitton live here?”.  Having consumed both of the bottles of wine we purchased at the market (our plan to save one for later had not worked out) and naturally assuming that no one on earth could literally be so dumb as to confuse a fashion designer with one of the royal Louis' I laughed hysterically and joked that he was Louis the XVII. I was met with a blank stare... and that’s where the conversation ended.

Getting onto our bicycles with impaired motor skills after our picnic proved to be more difficult than we had anticipated. But you will be happy to know that we didn't crash our bikes. We spent the rest of the afternoon enjoying the gardens, palace and fountains. The couple from Hollywood skipped the rest of the tour and went across the street to the pub.

 The Hall of Mirrors

Versailles fountains