Runners' Record: Paris 2024, Day 4 (Part 1)

As if getting back at 3am (and getting to bed somewhere around 4am) after running a nighttime marathon wasn't enough for one day, I got up around 8am to get under way to Versailles for a half day of touring around.

Alas, the shop around the corner where I'd gotten some pastries before was closed (Sunday), so I would need to wait until I got to Versailles to have something to eat. Oh well. I got to the bus stop and tried asking the person sitting there if this was the correct place to catch the bus for the train station (think a local version of your local Amtrak station). He didn't speak English, and my French was insufficient. I thought he was telling me that it was several stops up the road (and that I was in the right spot). The proper bus line arrived, and thankfully I asked the driver, who pointed me to the other -- much more innocuous -- bus stop in the other direction. So I shifted over, and caught that bus when it arrived a few minutes later.

The bus driver didn't understand my question, but thankfully a fellow passenger did and let me know what I needed to do in a few stops. (Thank you!) I got into the station about 15 minutes before they announced the track. Finally aboard the train (comfy!) and after not too long (35 minutes?) I arrived out in Versailles.

I headed on out towards the restaurant I had figured on getting breakfast. As I walked, I heard cheering getting louder and louder. What the hell? All of the equestrian events are done, aren't they? And they wouldn't be audible this far away from the grounds of Versailles, surely.

Finally, I arrived at the restaurant and looked over. People were lining the road behind barriers. OMG! The Olympic women's marathon was still going on! I figured that by the time I arrived, they would have passed. So, rather than going straight away to breakfast, I went to the course to see who else was still on course.

I wound up seeing two of the last three runners.

After the second runner went by, there wasn't the usual phalanx of cars, motorcycles, and even ambulance that typically marks the last runner has passed by. After another 10-15 minutes, that still hadn't happened. No one around me was watching the broadcast online, so there was no way to know how long it would be. And it was HOT. (So it was hideously hot for the runners.) Guilty, I made my way over to the restaurant. While I had a view of the course still, there's no way I'd be able to get over to it in time to cheer whoever was yet to arrive. I did wind up hearing the cheering while I was eating. It was only well later in the day that I found out that the last runner, a woman from Bhutan, finished in a little under 4 hours.

After breakfast, I made the additional few blocks to Versailles. On the way was this impressive building:

And then came my first glimpse (well, in daytime, anyway) of Versailles:

Out front is a statue of King Louis XIV:

Taking in the Chateau was rather stunning. And this barely scratches the surface, given all the gardens, groves, fountains, and the interior of the Chateau and the Trianon estate.

First off after entering were the gardens and some groves. On the way, I saw a few of the fountains, too. I didn't keep track of exactly what path I walked and for some reason didn't take photos of the names of most of the statues this time around. But here are the highlights.

A little bit of a water show:

It was still not even noon, and it was SO hot out. Mercifully, there were many parts of the gardens, etc. that had very tall shrubbery, providing some good shade to hide in.