Today is Guy’s Birthday.
We were really tired and I think everybody was in bed by 6 p.m. on Saturday night. We had set our alarm clock, but it did not go off. Luckily we woke up about 7 a.m. Jody brought packets of oatmeal, so we had oatmeal with fresh strawberries and banana for breakfast. We were supposed to be downstairs at our front door by 9:30 am to meet our guide for our Vespa tour to Versailles.
We got downstairs around 9:30 and waited for about 10 minutes and no one appeared to be showing up. Finally someone showed up on a Vespa and told us he was just dropping the scooter off and our guide should be arriving shortly. Sure enough, our guide pulled up not too long after that. After filling out all the paperwork and Eric getting the GoPro cameras put on the scooters, we set off with Jody and Guy on one scooter and Eric and I on another.
The route for our tour took us down the Champs-Elysees and around the Arc de Triumph and then out toward the countryside. Because it was a Sunday the traffic in town was pretty light and we got lucky and hit all the green lights, so the trip out of town was pretty fast.
After a stop at the gas station to fill up the scooters, we made our way to Versailles. We were attempting to get there in time for the fountain show. We made it with a half hour to spare but then we would have had to wait in line to get into the garden. So we decided to go and get lunch and then take a tour of the countryside instead.
Our guide took us to a creperie in the oldest part of Versailles for lunch. We had the most amazing lunch. Jody had a huge salad with fresh cheese, apples, and walnut, Guy had a savory crepe and then they both had a dessert crepe. Eric and I had a pizza style sandwich followed by a chocolate and strawberry crepe. I have to say it was the best crepe I have ever eaten—simply amazing.
After lunch we headed back to the scooters to make our way into the French countryside. It was so beautiful. Everything is so lush and green with yellow fields of blooming canola flowers. We took a small country road back to a castle and parked and got out and walked around a bit. It had an amazing view of the valley below.
We got back on the scooters and made our way even further into the countryside and through some hilly wooded valleys and stopped at another little café in the hills. After Jody and our guide had some coffee and espresso we took a short walk across the road down by the river. It was so beautiful with huge oak trees everywhere and fluffy moss covering the huge rocks and tree trunks. There were wildflowers blooming all around. It was a very peaceful and beautiful place.
After our walk we got back on the scooters and made our way even further down the road to another chateau with a lovely garden and lake. By that time it was about 5 o’clock in the afternoon so our guide said it was time to head back. We zipped our way through the countryside back toward the city. We rounded the Arc de Triumph and made our way back down the Champs-Elysees on the way to our apartment.
It was a magnificent way to spend a day. The countryside is so beautiful and what better way to see it than on a Vespa. I don’t think Jody and I could have taken much more riding, though. When Eric and I owned a Vespa several years ago there was only one problem I could find with it—it is not very comfortable for the person riding on the back as the way it is designed is provides for an awkward place to put your feet. Jody said by the time we got home she did not think she was going to be able to close her legs and my knees, hips, and feet were really killing me.
After parking the scooters we made our way back to the apartment and we all got cleaned up to head out and look for some dinner. We did not get back on the scooters until after 7 p.m. so by the time we made it out into the neighborhood to look for dinner it was close to 9 o’clock. Since it was Guy’s birthday we let him pick the restaurant. We ate at Thai restaurant just down the street. By the time we got done it was around 11 o’clock. We finally made it back to our apartment and headed for bed just after midnight.
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