Whew! Back at last, but very tired. It's 6:00 pm here and I'm used to it being midnight. Tis a beautiful looking place. Beautiful looking. The whole place smells like a giant cigarette though, except for the gardens which are nice though. I'm sure some of you have heard of Versailles, and know how it's huge.............................

There are two bathrooms in the whole place, both of which you have to pay to use. Not to mention the fact that about 10 billion screaming 6 year olds were in line in front of me, and the urinal was no more than a 3 inch wide, two inch deep metal ditch. France and toilets just don't mix. Almost every bathroom in all of Paris was like this.

Let me point out that it's a common misconception that French people hate americans, and especially american tourists. They weren't snooty either, a common connotation that has been pinned on them. All of them were extremely nice, nicer than many Americans, except for one man, who acted like the french knights in monty python .

Welcome back.

I paid a visit to Versailles decades ago when I was still a teenager, on a side trip from London. (I also saw the usual tourist stuff -- the Eiffel Tower, like a 19th century cast iron rocketship, and the gigantic Louvre, with the Winged Victory and La Gioconda, and Notre Dame.) Very strange place. It's amazing to think that such luxury limited to one person's family existed in that time. Perhaps such places exist now for the very wealthy, but I don't know if they are quite so gaudy about it.

Welcome back, Bean!

Glad you had a positive experience in France. I feel somewhat justified now for our postings in the other thread.

People are people. It seems to me that if we act friendly, our interactions will be friendly as well.

Glad you had a good time out there, Bean. It's wonderful to travel, especially while you are young. It really expands your view of the world.