Forget the palaces… it’s the scale and layout of the grounds at Versailles that are truly breathtaking. 800 hectares! 200,000 trees! 210,000 flowers planted annually! 6 million visitors a year! But the drizzly day is keeping the hordes away and we spend a few delightful hours traversing deserted forest trails and canal-side paths by bicycle, picking up a tiny snail named Shelly and a new appreciation of topiary along the way.