Early morning in Versailles and a Proust’s madeleine

 I am an early riser. So when we travel, I often sneak out to take pictures, find a place for a cup of coffee, and watch people.

So this is early morning Versailles.

Pizza place is closed.

No students hanging out there yet.

Preparations for opening the market.

Not a car in sight for several minutes.

Love the rooftop gardens.

Stopped in here for a café. The gentleman to my left (his beer, but not him, is pictured) is having a beer. Make that two. 

Always pigeons. Quite at home in a city with multiple monuments - never a lack of targets.

One comment from a French nerd. Yesterday morning, we had a madeleine at breakfast. One thing I remember from my studies in French (not nearly enough) is about Proust and the memories evoked from having a madeleine with his tea. In fact, there is an expression about “Proust’s madeleine” - a sensory cue that triggers a memory. I had my own yesterday walking through the gardens at Giverny. I had seen all these gorgeous flowers, but when we walked by honeysuckle growing wild on a fence, the scent took me back. Proustian. See, mes professeurs, I did learn something.