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knocked at my door, so I had to hustle some to have a hath, shave,
Jnd breakfast by 10.50, at which hour we had agreed to meet the^ girls. As it was we were a few minutes late, and found them waiting for us. Using the same taxi that we had come up in, we drove to the Gare dee Invalides, for which station we had to take the train to Versailles. I gave Elsie s 20 franc note to buy the tickets, and witnessed a fine example of the bone headed system of ticket selling that is in force over here, Elsie asked for two ordinary tickets and two military, at the same time pointing to Oharlie and me. Nothing doing though, he refused to sell her the military tickets. She hackoned to me, and I stepped up to thewicket. She then handed me five francs of the change she had been given, and I requested "deux militeire, deuxiene classe, a. Versailles", and was handed the tickets without a murmur. Oh, ite one grand system all right.
Found the next train was due to null out in five minutes so hustling out to the station platform, we located our train, but being late, were unable to find a seat anywhere. Nothing to it,hut to stand up on the back platform of a coacn. Started in a Cqyj minutes, and stopped at every little station en route, with seemingly every prospective passenger making a rush for our car. Before long I think we had representatives of every Allied soldier on that crowded platform, even to a. couple of Serbian airmen. Fortunately we reached Versailles before being stifled to death, and running the gantlet of a million odd flag sellers, several of whom we patronized, walked along the shady street towards the Palace. The girls having been out before, we were in no danger of losing our way. Versailles- the city- is not very large nor yet very attractive, but is famous as having been the home of the French royal families for centuries.
Grossing a large cobble-stoned square we entered the palace grounds through massive hronze gates, in front of which were grouped flag sellers, post card and souvenir purveyors etc. etc., all of them anxious to deprive us of our hard-earned money. Didn’t feel like carrying around ant excess baggage on a warm day, so turned them all down. Bearing off to the left and crossing asaother cobble stoned area, plentifully sprinkled with statues of whit I took to be old French kings we came to a. turnstile, and contributing five francs to the bemedalled. custodian of the gate, we found ourselves in the grounds at the side of the palace,
I might say that the Belgians were holding their National Fete out there that day, so there was a huge crowd already on the job. Strolling on - arm in arm? we passed the series of fountains for which Versailles is noted the world over. I’ll not attempt to describe them, as you can see them for yourself in that book of views I sent.
Besides the fountains, there are exceptionally beautiful flower* beds in the grounds, the arrangement of which rivalled those in the Tuleries Gardens, Walking down a slight incline, past another
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