The day after we went into Paris, we all took off on a road trip to Royaumont Abbey, a lovely, peaceful spot with no huge crowds to deal with. Most of the interior was off-limits, as it’s used for performances, and rehearsals were in progress. However, we saw what was available to the public and then went outside.
There, we roamed the gardens, including an extensive area with a huge variety of vegetables and fruits. These artichokes were in full bloom — not so good to eat by this time, but lovely to see!
After our leisurely walk around there, we went outside the gates, found a grassy area in the shade, and had a picnic we’d brought with us. Once we’d finished that and relaxed a bit, we headed to Chantilly, where we had a drink in a café and bought ice creams and crème Chantilly — the latter to take home to have with strawberries the following day. Yum!
Dinner was at an absolutely wonderful restaurant by the Seine in Rueil. We ate in a permanent tent-like room, and this was our view. How could it have gotten any better, you ask? Well ….
I forgot to take photos of much of what we had, since it was so delicious that I was more interested in eating than remembering. LOL! But this is a portion of my main course. It was perfect!
Oh, and the wine was decanted at the table and served in this beautiful carafe.
The next day was my sister’s and my birthday (remember that we’re twins!). At lunch we exchanged gifts; mine was this box of luscious, mouth-watering chocolates!
We also had champagne before our midday meal.
The rest of the day was fairly relaxed, until we went to Versailles in the evening. There, we saw a musical presentation in the palace, followed by wandering parts of the extensive gardens to enjoy a musical show that involved lights and fountains. The evening was capped off with fireworks and fountains “dancing” to music — as the rain began. When I say “rain”, though, think “deluge”. I swear we almost drowned 😉 while trying to exit; there were several thousand people all trying to get out through two very small doors, but it was so worth it! 🙂
My next post will be the beginning of the cruise my husband and I took to southern France, so stay tuned!
