Breakfast in Versailles

Excitement...and the desire to shower again...roused us from our bed. My wife had been worried that we would end up, in Griswald European Vacation fashion, sharing a community bathroom with strangers. I did try to dispel that fear, but couldn't unequivocally state that it wasn't a remote possibility--part of my "keep expectations low" style of husbandship. So every private shower was a victory. This may have been the most impressive part of the trip for my wife...no shared bathrooms.

Breakfast, and the purchase of groceries and supplies were next on the list for the morning. We went into the mall and found that every place was still closed. The breakfast places wouldn't be open for at least another half hour. We decided to hunt the elusive Monoprix (see link from previous post). It was the largest store in the mall, a superstore. How tough could it be to locate? Besides, I knew that it was at the same end of the mall as our hotel.

Turns out, "elusive" was an entirely a propos description for the Monoprix. Elmer Fudd had better luck finding Bugs Bunny than we had stalking this huge (literally building-sized), stationary object. My confidence began to suffer. I began to doubt that I had actually seen a Monoprix listed in this mall. We finally went outside and walked around the outside of the complex, or a part of it. It was a long walk...like Shire to Mordor long...give or take an orc. No Monoprix. I began to suspect a Romulan cloaking device. That's exactly what it was...sort of, almost.

In the previous post, I mentioned construction next door to the hotel. Part of the mall was undergoing some remodeling, and had been entirely blocked off. Yep. That part included the Monoprix. No megastore for groceries and supplies for us. Once more, I had planned to amaze my wife. Once more, Fate had blown smoke in my face, and said drolly, "Didn't see that one coming, did you? I own you, kid." I appreciate when I get called, "kid." It makes me feel young; it takes away the sting.

We did find the Lindt store, and my wife made me take a picture of it:

We skipped the restaurant breakfast, because we didn't want to walk back to that place (we had already put in more than a mile), and grabbed le petit dejeuner at a Brioche Doree stand (apparently there are some of these in the U.S. too). I had a pain au chocolate; my wife had a croissant; we each had orange juice; it was the special: one viennoiserie and a juice for 3 or 4 euros. This was my first pain au chocolat in roughly 30 years (some of them were rougher than others--meaning the years, not the food). When I had lived in Paris long ago, I had eaten pain au chocolat almost every day. They came in various sizes and quality. These were large and delicious baked goods, and we enjoyed them. We had taken "a jumbo across the water," in the words of Supertramp, and eaten breakfast in Versailles.

Next: The super market experience.