Back in Paris after Belgium, the second half of the trip turned out to be even more packed than the first. Palace of Versailles Chapel Versailles got a full day on its own, and it needs one. The Hall of Mirrors is the room everyone comes for, and it does not disappoint — seventeen mirrored arches reflecting the gardens outside, gold from floor to ceiling. But the King’s and Queen’s apartments were just as striking, and the Hall of Battles, lined with massive history paintings

Paris does not ease you in. Within the first couple of days we’d walked the Seine, wandered the Tuileries Garden, and stood at the obelisk in Place de la Concorde — and somehow it still felt like we’d barely started. Eiffel Tower in evening The real welcome, though, was an evening picnic at the Eiffel Tower. We staked out a spot on the grass at Champ de Mars with pastries and a bottle of champagne and just watched the tower shift through every version of itself — flat in the