See Versailles this Summer!

Travelers enrolled in the D-Day Trip have the opportunity to enhance their trip with two optional excursions. What are optional excursions? They are trips or activities that are not included in the regular tour price, but can be added to your trip for a small fee. Usually they are really cool experiences you would not want to miss, and they will cost less if you enroll in advance.

For D-Day Trip participants, two optional excursions are available: The London Eye & Thames River Cruise (more about that option later) and Versailles. I had the opportunity to visit Versailles as part of my training to lead this tour, and I highly recommend it! (That's me, standing in the Hall of Mirrors, to the left).

Versailles is a MUST-SEE locale for any history traveler. This grand palace, built by Louis XIV, is unrivaled in opulence and splendor. Some of the principal living areas are now open to the public as a museum, as are the elaborate gardens (hundreds of acres of them) behind the palace. The picture to the right is of the gardens during my trip in November. They'll be in full bloom when we go in June! Notably, several major treaties were signed in the palace's Hall of Mirrors, including the Treaty of Versailles which ended World War I. Within the various salons (rooms), you'll find numerous paintings and other works of art documenting the history of the French royal family.

If you would like to enroll on this tour, you can do so by accessing your online account and following the links to "enroll on an optional excursion". Or, let me know and I can also sign you up. The cost of the half-day trip (Versailles is about 20 miles outside of Paris), is $70, and that includes your transportation, admission, guided tour (and whisper headset equipment for the tour). You won't want to go to France and NOT see this, so sign up today! The deadline to enroll is April 26.