That morning I woke at 9:00 like we had agreed after having a fantastic sleep. After eating some really sweet breakfast cereal Blandine and I headed off to the Palace of Versailles in here little Renualt clio. Blandine said that although I wasn’t the clio sport it was a petrol 1.4 litre. I thought this sounded pretty funny because a 1.4 l is pretty tiny still but considering the 
other options I see where she is coming from. In the car park to the palace we ate the most beautiful pa chocolate that we had picked up along the way ad headed into the grounds. After seeing quite possibly the biggest queue I have ever seen to get into the palace we walked around the massive and very impressive gardens – soaking up the warm sun. Then I lined up in the queue to the palace and Blandine went to a nice bolongerie to get some lunch – bread with ham chunks in it and pastry with ham cheese and potato on it – it was very bon (good)!The cost thirteen euro with our student discounts and included an audio guide. The first thing to know about the palace is that it is huge, there are many many rooms and all of them are intricately decorated with murals, tapestry and statues. So much so that by the end of the tour I tended to simply glance at a 10m square painting that would have had me glued to it if it were at the start of the tour. The highlights of the palace were for me the Hall of Mirrors and King Louis XIV’s room. The hall of mirror sis 750m squared and all along one side is covered in mirrors which reflect he multitude of chandeliers that hang from the ceiling and the large arch windows which look over the gardens. Back in the 16th century when the palace was built mirrors were extremely Cher (expensive – valuable) and this was one way of showing off Louis wealth when he held dance parties in this room. Also the treaty of Versailles was signed in this room - that ended WW1 – which I 
had learned all about in yr12 modern history. King Louis bedroom was cool because it was so far over the top. Paintings, tapestries a massive four poster bed as well as seats for people he was doing business with. Yup, you know you have power when you can run a country without having to leave your bed. Perhaps this is where Jay and the Doctor got their idea to host the Triple J breakfast show from their bedroom in their happiest Monday of all special??!!WE then ducked back to Blandines house at about 4:00 and she packed her bags and I chatted to Blandines mum about an Indian documentary on the TV while she did some ironing. She only spoke a little English so it was fun!Blandine and I then left to find the Bed and Breakfast where we should stay the night in the deep French country side. We drove on the small back roads to avoid paying the highway toll and so we could see some nice country side, which we certainly did. After 3 hours we arrived thanks to Blandines superb navigating (I wasn’t much help) and rally driving skills. The B and B was an old farm that had orchids on it, the room that we were straying in had a bathroom, and two beds. Blandine had asked me earlier when her mum was booking if I would mind if we had to share a bed if there were only one. I said ‘yeah’ but probably would have slept on the floor in my sleeping bag. There another cultural difference – it is fine for a woman in a relationship of 6 years to sleep in the same bed as a single man…We ate some chicken and baguette that Mrs Fouin had packed for us and joked th
at if it didn’t fill us up we would have to knock off the Chev (goat) that was in th paddock. I suggested head butting it to death – but Blandine thought that backing over it in the Clio would be better. We then went for a walk through he orchid and farm lanes and picked some blackberries as the sun slowly set. That night I had some unpleasant dreams – a theme that would continue. Not exactly nasty or scary dreams, just ones that made me feel icky…
other options I see where she is coming from. In the car park to the palace we ate the most beautiful pa chocolate that we had picked up along the way ad headed into the grounds. After seeing quite possibly the biggest queue I have ever seen to get into the palace we walked around the massive and very impressive gardens – soaking up the warm sun. Then I lined up in the queue to the palace and Blandine went to a nice bolongerie to get some lunch – bread with ham chunks in it and pastry with ham cheese and potato on it – it was very bon (good)!The cost thirteen euro with our student discounts and included an audio guide. The first thing to know about the palace is that it is huge, there are many many rooms and all of them are intricately decorated with murals, tapestry and statues. So much so that by the end of the tour I tended to simply glance at a 10m square painting that would have had me glued to it if it were at the start of the tour. The highlights of the palace were for me the Hall of Mirrors and King Louis XIV’s room. The hall of mirror sis 750m squared and all along one side is covered in mirrors which reflect he multitude of chandeliers that hang from the ceiling and the large arch windows which look over the gardens. Back in the 16th century when the palace was built mirrors were extremely Cher (expensive – valuable) and this was one way of showing off Louis wealth when he held dance parties in this room. Also the treaty of Versailles was signed in this room - that ended WW1 – which I 
had learned all about in yr12 modern history. King Louis bedroom was cool because it was so far over the top. Paintings, tapestries a massive four poster bed as well as seats for people he was doing business with. Yup, you know you have power when you can run a country without having to leave your bed. Perhaps this is where Jay and the Doctor got their idea to host the Triple J breakfast show from their bedroom in their happiest Monday of all special??!!WE then ducked back to Blandines house at about 4:00 and she packed her bags and I chatted to Blandines mum about an Indian documentary on the TV while she did some ironing. She only spoke a little English so it was fun!Blandine and I then left to find the Bed and Breakfast where we should stay the night in the deep French country side. We drove on the small back roads to avoid paying the highway toll and so we could see some nice country side, which we certainly did. After 3 hours we arrived thanks to Blandines superb navigating (I wasn’t much help) and rally driving skills. The B and B was an old farm that had orchids on it, the room that we were straying in had a bathroom, and two beds. Blandine had asked me earlier when her mum was booking if I would mind if we had to share a bed if there were only one. I said ‘yeah’ but probably would have slept on the floor in my sleeping bag. There another cultural difference – it is fine for a woman in a relationship of 6 years to sleep in the same bed as a single man…We ate some chicken and baguette that Mrs Fouin had packed for us and joked th
at if it didn’t fill us up we would have to knock off the Chev (goat) that was in th paddock. I suggested head butting it to death – but Blandine thought that backing over it in the Clio would be better. We then went for a walk through he orchid and farm lanes and picked some blackberries as the sun slowly set. That night I had some unpleasant dreams – a theme that would continue. Not exactly nasty or scary dreams, just ones that made me feel icky… 
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