This morning I went to Versailles. My goal was to avoid the over the top chateau, since I’ve been there twice, and just see the gardens and Marie Antoinette’s cute hamlet. I picked up a sandwich and headed for the palace. Me and possibly thousands of other people.

All that gold on the exterior gives you some idea of what the interior looks like.

I walked through the gardens to the Grand Canal. I sat on the grass by the water and ate my sandwich while watching the boaters. There were a lot of school groups there, with students of all ages.

I twisted my ankle on the cobblestones, but I forged on the the Petit Trianon, where I discovered I would have to pay €12 (about $14) to go in there, in order to access the Hamlet. I’ve been there before, and I know how much further the walk is. I may regret it later, but I left. I took the little train back up to the chateau, and caught the RER back to Paris.

I was tired, my ankle hurt, and I just wanted to lie down for 30 minutes. So I did just that back at the apartment. It’s impossible to sleep well because of all the exterior noise.

Today is the first day of summer. In Paris they have something called Fête De la Musique. People play music all over the city. I wandered around different neighborhoods enjoying a variety of musicians and DJ’s.

For dinner I went to a place that had been recommended to me – Breizah Cafe. They are known for their food from the Brittany region. I had a smoked salmon crepe, or as they call it in Brittany, a galette. It’s made of buckwheat. It was very good. I’m going to try to replicate it at home.

After listening to more music and walking close to 10 miles with a bum ankle I decided it was time to call it a night. If you can call it night. It’s now 10:30 p.m. and it’s dusk. Sunset was officially at 9:56 p.m., but it isn’t dark yet. It’s been a long day, literally. Happy Summer!