It’s a big, beautiful world out there. Please enjoy it responsibly. It was a dismal December day when we went to Versailles; grey and rainy, with a sharp wind that cut through coats and hats. Inside the maison the weather did not matter. Well-lit rooms held vigil against the clouds and the packed rooms of tourists kept the cold at bay. But then we went into the gardens. People jokingly cautioned that we'd be bored in the gardens, that they would have no appeal because it was winter and their glory would be lost to the change of season. Still we went forward, blithely, jokingly, hoping to eke out some little bit of fun despite the weather and OH DEAR GOD WHAT IS THIS MADNESS??? So it seems that the groundskeepers at Versailles wrap the garden statues in canvas in the winter to protect them against the elements. Clustered together like this, it looks like I walked into a cult ritual. And who says there's nothing new to see at Versailles?