France (Page 2)

Since my train from Paris wasn’t until late afternoon and the distance was minimal, there was no need to get up early. Even though I woke at my usual hour, I lingered in bed, enjoying a slow morning. Eventually, I headed to a bakery for a croissant and coffee. After that, I gave Greengo a literal shower—he was still coated in muck from all the wet roads. Once he was clean, I packed up, and only then did I leave the hotel for Versailles. By that time, all traces of the night’s rain had vanished.
By the way Trappes is where Omar Sy (the French actor known for Intouchables, Lupin, etc.) grew up.
When I arrived at Versailles, I realized I needed a ticket to enter the gardens—and more importantly, I wasn’t allowed to bring the bike in, even if I walked it. So, I admired the palace from a distance. I had forgotten how vast it is; my memory of it was very vague. And the amount of gold detailing everywhere—it’s honestly incredible.

A bit later, when I got back to Paris, even the clouds began to clear, and as I was taking photos, the sun broke through! Hurray! I even had to wear sunglasses for the first time on this trip. Yeay! Admittedly, it came a bit late, but I’ll take it.
With a few hours still to spare before my train, I cycled around Paris without any particular destination. I stopped by Brompton Junction, where they kindly fixed the issue I’d been having with the hub gear shifter for the past few days. That was really appreciated. Then I had a late lunch by the Seine. And finally, I said “Au revoir!” to Paris.

And just like that, another trip came to an end. After a week of weather-related frustration, it closed on a far more pleasant note.

Today in numbers:

50 km – distance cycled, that’s 32 km to Paris and the rest city meandering
2300 — rooms in Versailles Palace
485 — movies whose titles explicitly contain the word Paris