If I disappear, it's Apple's fault

[debthaven]

She is going to Versailles on Friday and we are meeting for coffee.

[Jaguar]

LMAO

[MarleyKeezy78]

Have fun!!! 

[debthaven]

I'm excited to meet her!

She installed What's App so we can both text for free (we're good YMers lol). We tested it before she left.

We should be meeting at 4 or 5 pm, so 10 or 11 am EST. I'm probably having lunch with my DS2 that day, which gives her and her DS time to visit the castle and gardens. I told her we can either meet near the train station, or near the castle (in which case I can drive them to the station ... if they dare get into the car with me, bwah ha ha!)

[dannylion]

Cool! What fun.  I hope you have a great visit.  I'm sure you'll be quite safe.  I believe Apple has a dog, so clearly she is trustworthy. 

   

[debthaven]

Dannylion, you know I have a bunny, does that mean I'm trustworthy too?! LOL

[Deleted]

Jun 17, 2015 18:20:49 GMT -5 debthaven said:

She is going to Versailles on Friday and we are meeting for coffee.

Someone else may have said this, but what if Apple disappears?

[debthaven]

No, nobody has said that, SS1954! I hadn't even thought of that LOL /  :-(

ETA: I have a pet bunny so I'm trustworthy too. If she disappears, it won't be on my watch! 

[Deleted]

Jun 17, 2015 18:45:07 GMT -5 debthaven said:

SS1954, I have a bunny, and Dannylion says that means I'm trustworthy. ;-)

Well, actually, Dannylion didn't say that; you did.

Is that sort of like the used car sales person saying, "Trust me"?

[The Walk of the Penguin Mich]

Hope the line she needs to stand in is shorter than the one I did.  Versailles wins my own personal contest as to the longest line I ever stood in in my entire life.  Not only that, I stood there in the rain.  However, that was my last day in Paris and my only opportunity left to go, so I waited....and waited.....and waited.....................

[debthaven]

I edited my post ... Indeed I can't guarantee that Apple won't disappear (Gd forbid!). But if she does, it won't be when we're together, I promise! 

I hope she doesn't read this thread and cancel our appointment lol. 

[dannylion]

Jun 17, 2015 18:41:27 GMT -5 debthaven said:

Dannylion, you know I have a bunny, does that mean I'm trustworthy too?! LOL

Of course!

[debthaven]

Mich, they were planning to walk around Paris on Fri and go to Versailles on Sat. I told her, PLEASE change your plans and go to Versailles on Fri instead. The lines are indeed beyond horrific. We went there last year with DH's best friend's son and his GF. I hadn't been inside in 15 years (although we do visit the gardens much more often). I have trouble dealing with lines / crowds. 

The year before that, the son of a close friend from college visited, also with his GF. We took them out for a late lunch, we finished at about 3.30. DH walked with them to the castle to see the times / lines. There were NO lines (this was also in June) and at 4 pm, you could get in at a reduced rate. But, they hadn't yet finished the renovations at that point so I'm not sure that option still exists. 

So that's probably a better way to go, at least in the late spring / summer when the days are long here. IF that option still exists. I forgot to suggest that to Apple  This said, I really got the impression that they wanted to spend the day there. 

They will also see the most recent installation by Anish Kapoor, which we haven't seen (yet). 

[Bonny]

Apple,

Forget Versailles go to Giverny instead. How much gold-gilt can someone stand anyway.

I preferred Malmaison. I think it's an extra ticket but worth it.

Have fun with debthaven! She's safe, I swear; she and my BFF meet up a few times a year.

[ken a.k.a OMK]

Hey have fun. Apple's son is going along for protection.

[NastyWoman]

I have just one word for all this: JEALOUS!!!

[Tennesseer]

Have fun, both of you.

[taz157]

Jun 17, 2015 19:48:48 GMT -5 Tennesseer said:

Have fun, both of you.

[Apple]

I'm not a killer, I promise
I'm looking forward to it also. We flew in yesterday, and once we got the train from the airport figured out, the rest (metro) was easy.
We're going to wander around Paris today (I walked around the hotel a few hours by myself yesterday, while ds slept. He's still sleeping 12 hours later).
Hopefully the line to the castle is short! I may see if there is a two or three day pass that well let me shorten the lines. We leave Paris Sunday morning to head south, so have a few days in the city.

[Tennesseer]

Jun 17, 2015 21:17:14 GMT -5 Apple said:

I'm not a killer, I promise
I'm looking forward to it also. We flew in yesterday, and once we got the train from the airport figured out, the rest (metro) was easy.
We're going to wander around Paris today (I walked around the hotel a few hours by myself yesterday, while ds slept. He's still sleeping 12 hours later).
Hopefully the line to the castle is short! I may see if there is a two or three day pass that well let me shorten the lines. We leave Paris Sunday morning to head south, so have a few days in the city.

Apple-refresh my memory: are you the poster who, through your son's interest in it, will be visiting WWII sites on this journey? If so, do have a fun time a great and learning experience.

[Apple]

Jun 17, 2015 21:31:21 GMT -5 Tennesseer said:

Jun 17, 2015 21:17:14 GMT -5 Apple said:

I'm not a killer, I promise
I'm looking forward to it also. We flew in yesterday, and once we got the train from the airport figured out, the rest (metro) was easy.
We're going to wander around Paris today (I walked around the hotel a few hours by myself yesterday, while ds slept. He's still sleeping 12 hours later).
Hopefully the line to the castle is short! I may see if there is a two or three day pass that well let me shorten the lines. We leave Paris Sunday morning to head south, so have a few days in the city.

Apple-refresh my memory: are you the poster who, through your son's interest in it, will be visiting WWII sites on this journey? If so, do have a fun time a great and learning experience.

Yes, I'm that poster
I've come up with a general outline to our trip, staying 2-3 nights in each city. We were able to connect with some distant relatives, who invited us to stay a few nights, so we threw that in too.

[Apple]

Jun 18, 2015 0:50:22 GMT -5 Ratchets said:

BEWARE debthaven !!  She seems innocent enough but before you know it you'll be watching topless bull-riding...

I cannot deny this... but it was fun!

[Bonny]

One of my favorite memories is a tour of the catacombs with my BFF.

She and my DH were singing "Dem bones". That might have been due to the bottles of wine we consumed at lunch.

[tskeeter]

Jun 17, 2015 18:49:01 GMT -5 The Walk of the Penguin Mich said:

Hope the line she needs to stand in is shorter than the one I did.  Versailles wins my own personal contest as to the longest line I ever stood in in my entire life.  Not only that, I stood there in the rain.  However, that was my last day in Paris and my only opportunity left to go, so I waited....and waited.....and waited.....................

Sorry you had to do that.  The lines can be really long.  Especially on a sunny day.

If you visit Paris again, you might consider a museum pass.  Ours let us bypass the lines at the Louvre and I believe that it allowed us to use the short line at Versailles.  I think we stood in line for maybe 15 minutes. 

For others visiting places with lots of tourist sights, it's worth checking if there is a local version of the Paris museum pass.  Can save you some money on admissions and may give you preferred entry.  One of the sources we use to learn about these types of things are the Rick Steves guide books.  Steves guide books have a multifaceted focus.  First is cost effective travel, so he tells about ways you could save money.  Another focus is your travel dollar as an investment.  Steves think time spent waiting in lines and the like is a waste of your travel dollars.  So he recommends ways to avoid the time wasters.  (I bet Mich would pay $20 for a guide book to avoid standing the the Versailles line a second time.)  For those of you who aren't Ricknics, yet, Steves is an ardent advocate of experiencing the culture of the places you travel and getting in real contact with the local people, as opposed to behaving like a spectator at a zoo.  So he recommends things that are off the map for the big tour companies.  Can you imagine what it would be like to attend a choir concert at Notre Dame?  Or something similar?  Its' the little, unusual things that make the memories.  The guy with the dog who instructed us on how to use the laundramat in Versailles, the older gent walking the dog who provided a local history lesson on our visit to the Glens of Antrim, and the rope jumping (12 year old) hostess at a small Paris restaurant are more vivid memories than seeing the Mona Lisa.

[tskeeter]

Jun 17, 2015 18:20:49 GMT -5 debthaven said:

She is going to Versailles on Friday and we are meeting for coffee.

Will you be having cake? 

[The Walk of the Penguin Mich]

Jun 18, 2015 12:51:25 GMT -5 tskeeter said:

Jun 17, 2015 18:49:01 GMT -5 The Walk of the Penguin Mich said:

Hope the line she needs to stand in is shorter than the one I did.  Versailles wins my own personal contest as to the longest line I ever stood in in my entire life.  Not only that, I stood there in the rain.  However, that was my last day in Paris and my only opportunity left to go, so I waited....and waited.....and waited.....................

Sorry you had to do that.  The lines can be really long.  Especially on a sunny day.

If you visit Paris again, you might consider a museum pass.  Ours let us bypass the lines at the Louvre and I believe that it allowed us to use the short line at Versailles.  I think we stood in line for maybe 15 minutes. 

For others visiting places with lots of tourist sights, it's worth checking if there is a local version of the Paris museum pass.  Can save you some money on admissions and may give you preferred entry.  One of the sources we use to learn about these types of things are the Rick Steves guide books.  Steves guide books have a multifaceted focus.  First is cost effective travel, so he tells about ways you could save money.  Another focus is your travel dollar as an investment.  Steves think time spent waiting in lines and the like is a waste of your travel dollars.  So he recommends ways to avoid the time wasters.  (I bet Mich would pay $20 for a guide book to avoid standing the the Versailles line a second time.)  For those of you who aren't Ricknics, yet, Steves is an ardent advocate of experiencing the culture of the places you travel and getting in real contact with the local people, as opposed to behaving like a spectator at a zoo.  So he recommends things that are off the map for the big tour companies.  Can you imagine what it would be like to attend a choir concert at Notre Dame?  Or something similar?  Its' the little, unusual things that make the memories.  The guy with the dog who instructed us on how to use the laundramat in Versailles, the older gent walking the dog who provided a local history lesson on our visit to the Glens of Antrim, and the rope jumping (12 year old) hostess at a small Paris restaurant are more vivid memories than seeing the Mona Lisa.

The first time I went, it was pre-museum pass availability.  The second time I went to Paris, I did get the museum pass.  Also, going at the end of Sept. vs July helped considerably.  I didn't go back the second time, but used the pass all around Paris.

Funny thing you say though.....but the evening I got back from Versailles I was wandering through the Jardins de Luxembourg and there was a HS band concert going on.   So I went across the street to a boulangerie and bought a sandwich and drink, parked myself on a bench and watched it.  The rain had cleared out and it was a gorgeous evening.  My second trip, I managed to score a ticket to see Ballet Russe do Romeo and Juliet.  Both were memorable events, but they didn't detract from seeing the classics 'tourist' things that I had read about for 20 years.

While Steves doesn't seem to be an advocate of seeing the 'sights', I imagine Steves HAS been to Versailles (at least once).  When you are under time constraints (the first time I was in Paris, I wanted to see everything so I had things planned to a gnat's ass).  I also went in the middle of tourist season, but I had no control over that as I did this trip as a jump off from a research meeting I had in Glasgow.  If you have the ability to be flexible, then Steve's suggestions make sense.

[TheOtherMe]

When I visited Versailles, I was with a tour group, so we used a different line and didn't have to wait ery long.  

I do envy you going to the beautiful palace.

[tskeeter]

Jun 18, 2015 13:30:49 GMT -5 The Walk of the Penguin Mich said:

Jun 18, 2015 12:51:25 GMT -5 tskeeter said:

Sorry you had to do that.  The lines can be really long.  Especially on a sunny day.

If you visit Paris again, you might consider a museum pass.  Ours let us bypass the lines at the Louvre and I believe that it allowed us to use the short line at Versailles.  I think we stood in line for maybe 15 minutes. 

For others visiting places with lots of tourist sights, it's worth checking if there is a local version of the Paris museum pass.  Can save you some money on admissions and may give you preferred entry.  One of the sources we use to learn about these types of things are the Rick Steves guide books.  Steves guide books have a multifaceted focus.  First is cost effective travel, so he tells about ways you could save money.  Another focus is your travel dollar as an investment.  Steves think time spent waiting in lines and the like is a waste of your travel dollars.  So he recommends ways to avoid the time wasters.  (I bet Mich would pay $20 for a guide book to avoid standing the the Versailles line a second time.)  For those of you who aren't Ricknics, yet, Steves is an ardent advocate of experiencing the culture of the places you travel and getting in real contact with the local people, as opposed to behaving like a spectator at a zoo.  So he recommends things that are off the map for the big tour companies.  Can you imagine what it would be like to attend a choir concert at Notre Dame?  Or something similar?  Its' the little, unusual things that make the memories.  The guy with the dog who instructed us on how to use the laundramat in Versailles, the older gent walking the dog who provided a local history lesson on our visit to the Glens of Antrim, and the rope jumping (12 year old) hostess at a small Paris restaurant are more vivid memories than seeing the Mona Lisa.

The first time I went, it was pre-museum pass availability.  The second time I went to Paris, I did get the museum pass.  Also, going at the end of Sept. vs July helped considerably.  I didn't go back the second time, but used the pass all around Paris.

Funny thing you say though.....but the evening I got back from Versailles I was wandering through the Jardins de Luxembourg and there was a HS band concert going on.   So I went across the street to a boulangerie and bought a sandwich and drink, parked myself on a bench and watched it.  The rain had cleared out and it was a gorgeous evening.  My second trip, I managed to score a ticket to see Ballet Russe do Romeo and Juliet.  Both were memorable events, but they didn't detract from seeing the classics 'tourist' things that I had read about for 20 years.

While Steves doesn't seem to be an advocate of seeing the 'sights', I imagine Steves HAS been to Versailles (at least once).  When you are under time constraints (the first time I was in Paris, I wanted to see everything so I had things planned to a gnat's ass).  I also went in the middle of tourist season, but I had no control over that as I did this trip as a jump off from a research meeting I had in Glasgow.  If you have the ability to be flexible, then Steve's suggestions make sense.

I can't agree with your assessment that Steves isn't an advocate of seeing the "sights".  His guide books are the only guides that I've seen that identify certain sights as must see, try to see, and if you have time.  IIRC, Versailles is on the must see list for the Paris area.  Along with Notre Dame, the Louvre, the Eiffel Tower, and a few other sights.  The big sights are important enough in Steves' guides that he discusses how to avoid the long admission lines and provides general maps of the major sights.

I didn't mean to imply in my comments that the classic tourist destinations are not memorable, although the way I wrote my comments, its certainly lends itself to that interpretation.  But, I find that some of the spur of the moment activities add spice to our travels.  I mention these things to encourage other travelers to try to allow some time to go with the flow, and hopefully fall into something like a concert in the park.  I see too many people whose travels seem to be a 20 countries in 10 days exercise in checking off a been there, done that list.  While there are occasions when you don't have much time and you need to cover some ground, I think that having some trips where you are not pressed for time can make the travel experience even more enjoyable.  

[plugginaway22]

Definitely worth the wait if there is a line!  Versailles is one of my most vivid memories of Paris in 1978.
I am also jealous!

[debthaven]

Apple and her DS and I spent an hour together in Versailles talking over cold drinks. It was great to meet them! (Although her poor DS was probably bored hearing us talk for an hour lol.)