château de versailles 2027

LINK: château de versailles 2027

Five Star sent a group text to me, her sister, and Ava. She wants to go to Paris next year.

Last year, we went to the Maldives and London for a little over a week. We skipped this year because our schedules couldn’t sync up and I didn’t want to travel out of the country because of the nonsense that we have in the U.S.

One of Five Star’s friends sent her a link about the 2026 Grand Masked Ball at the Palace of Versailles. It’s a party where people show up wearing baroque gowns and costume. Then at 2330, they have DJs performing, dancing, fireworks, and an after party in the gardens that goes until dawn. On top of that, they want to attend the Fêtes Galantes at Versailles.

To offset a portion of the cost, we could stay a night at Five Star’s ex-husband’s place. I’ve never met him but apparently he’s eager for us to come visit and have drinks with him. She still talks highly of him even though they’re divorced and she has a long-term boyfriend.

Five Star has already started a rough draft on the itinerary:

• getting professional photos taken in costume before the ball
• Michelin-star dining
• lots of drinking
• flying out business class out of LAX because it’s a long leg and we have the points
• staying at either The Ritz, Four Seasons V, Le Bristol, Hôtel Plaza Athénée, or Park Hyatt Paris-Vendôme

Ava (her husband is a multi-millionaire) wants to get her daughter a leather appointment. Spending this kinda money doesn’t even guarantee that you’ll even get an appointment, it just means that your chances are higher. Side note: I think their bags are ugly AF IMHO so you can count me out on this atrocity.

I’m not completely sold on going. I’ve already been to Versailles and in my head, I’m calculating the costs. Between Five Star and myself, we would have enough points to cover the flight and hotel, which helps tremendously. But the fantastic ball tickets are €770 (equivalent to $878.89 US) per person and they only have a limited quantity, so getting them isn’t a sure thing. And obtaining a costume seems expensive and tedious to me. Maybe I can just piggyback off my girlfriends if they find somewhere to rent the fits.

Aside from spending time with the ladies, I am excited about the food. Michelin-starred restaurants that are more affordable than whatever I could access in the U.S.: Aldenyde (€75 for four courses at lunchtime), Baieta (€60 at lunchtime), Tomy & Co (€49 at lunchtime).

The think the biggest barrier I might have is getting time off from my jobs. It was such an ordeal coordinating my vacation last year that I’m not sure if I’ll be able to pull it off again next year.

I guess we’ll see what happens…