I think this top photo is the winningest photo of the trip. That’s Rose at the front gate of Versailles.

OK. I have to give a little tourist tip for Versailles. You know we’re here during the crush of tourist season. When we arrived at Versailles, the line to get into the palace was dizzying. So instead, we went to the gardens and had a picnic and some ice cream, then lounged by the boats (which you can rent, by the way, another PERFECT place to propose), then visited the Grande Trianon (where the kings played with their courtesans), and the Petite Trianon (where Marie Antoinette escaped the palace politics and pretended to be a peasant in her little stone manse). THEN, we went up to the palace, et voila, there was no wait. We walked right in. And it wasn’t crowded either. In fact, we went to the tea room and sat alone having tea as if we owned the joint.

Another tourist tip: Kids, bring student ID. It’s free if you have your ID. That’s the case with almost all the museums we’ve been to in Europe. It’s tres cool. 

One more tip: Don’t take the first train back to Paris. It’ll be packed. Trust me. You’re exhausted after ‘doing Versailles.’ So stop and have dinner and let everyone else crowd into those first few trains. Then you’ll have your choice of seats heading back into the city!

And can I just say, this should be on everyone’s bucket list? Versailles is a testament to man’s truly powerful ability to create breathtaking beauty out of stone and metal and wood and his ability to harness nature in a unique way.