Picnic at Versailles

Highly recommended by a friend, we booked a bike tour from Paris to Versailles with Fat Tire Bike Tour. Before reaching the grounds of Versailles, our tour guide took us to the open market to grab some picnic goodies. We love going to the farmer's market (whether it be in San Francisco, Pasadena, Irvine, Italy...) for all the fresh fruits and organic produce, so coming to the open market in Versailles was a real treat. They gave us only 40 minutes to shop - not enough!

Freshly squeezed orange juice

An impressive display of shrimp and prawns
Fresh, organic produce
A wide variety of paté and terrine
Fresh cherries, strawberries, peaches
We walked a bit away from the central market to a recommended bakery and bought a warm baguette to eat with the cheeses.
Fromage - we bought some Brie and Camembert
Laying out our food here. We also bought a rotisserie chicken too. I recommend bringing your own picnic supplies (I didn't see it being sold anywhere) and buy a nice bottle of wine at the market. Don't forget the corkscrew and the wine glasses.

Rillette d'Oie (goose paté) - This was one of my favorites. Rillettes are cooked in fat and this is why it's so delicious! It's far from the healthy side, but I could not hold back in eating this savory and creamy rillette that had shreds of the seasoned meat immersed in the fat.

Terrine de foie canard - A bit coarser and had less fat than the rillete. I didn't like it as much as the rillette but it did have a bold taste to it.
Our tour guide led us around the grounds of the Versailles, passing through Marie Antoinette's hamlet, the Petit and Grand Trianons, before settling down at the Grand Canal, Here, we enjoyed our scrumptious meal while gazing towards the beautiful chateau. It was a great experience to see the grounds and pastures of Versailles on bike and picnicking alongside the canal. It was such an intimate and peaceful feeling to absorb the lifestyle of those who lived here and the enchanting history of this place.