Of all the places in all the world, Versailles is the single place I felt I must see before I die.
We went to Versailles on Thanksgiving. I was still sick, angry about being sick, annoyed at people, it was cold and raining, and we left the house 2 hours later than I wanted to. I felt like my dream day was ruined before it started, and I was not in a good mood. My feet were exhausted and hurt from walking, yet all I wanted to do at Versailles was walk. No one else wanted to walk anymore. Today had to be the day we go to Versailles?
I knew seeing Versailles at this time of year would not be ideal anyway. The grounds of the palace are enormous and most of the space is covered with immaculate gardens. My real dream is to ride bicycles and walk through the gardens in Spring, Summer, or Fall. All day. But I am actually glad to have first experienced everything we did in the off-season. We never had to wait in line and the weather wasn't too bad. And despite my bad mood and the imperfect circumstances, Versailles was amazing.
The Palace
After seeing the Louvre, the facade of Versailles was not all that imposing. And much of it was under construction, you can see the facade in the photo of Todd and me. But the golden gates, hello! You can see them gleaming from a mile away.
This totally opulent palace is where the Kings Louis (3 of them) kept all the powerful people partying so they could run the government. This was my favorite cathedral of any on our trip. They are usually so dark, but this one was full of light for the "Sun King."
The Hall of Mirrors was everything you think it should be. The mirrors conceal doors that lead to the King's and Queen's bedrooms. There are windows opposite the mirrors, so the hall is full of light. I loved the insane decadence of the interiors, but the huge windows were my favorite part.
I became obsessed with taking pictures of the window hardware.
This is the Queen's bedroom, done up in the style of Marie Antoinette. All the bedrooms were like this-- a huge bed with curtains and a little dividing fence in front with a waiting area. I loved the fabric (though the extensive use of it was nauseating), which she had changed out 4x per year.
The palace grounds are enormous. We took a trolley out to see the other buildings and passed several fields of sheep and horses.
GRAND TRIANON
The King's Retreat
This was my favorite space in all of Versailles. Clean, bright white, and windows all along.
The Queen's Retreat
This was my favorite building. The opulence of the main palance is almost sickening--as much as I'm crazy for that kind of over-the-top-Frenchness, I couldn't handle it in real life. I could totally live in the Petit Trianon-- it was beautiful, simple, and not too big.
HAMEAU DE LA REINE
The Queen's Hamlet
This little farm was built for Marie-Antionette to make it feel like she lived in the countryside. She liked to dress as a peasant and milk the cows.
This place was like a centuries-old Disneyland. It was my favorite part of the palace! It was so quaint and realistic, I expected to turn the corner and see a farmer picking lettuce.
We didn't know it at the time, but the Paris LDS temple will be built just across the street behind the Hameau! They just secured the land and got approval for the temple, so it will be a while yet. Sounds like a return trip to me...
After finding our way out of the Hameau, we left the palace. Richard had spotted a Tex-Mex restaurant right by the train station, so we stopped there for dinner. It was, hands down, the worst Mexican food I've ever eaten (did we think Mexican food in France would be edible?). Four of us ordered "chicken enchiladas." The chicken was seasoned with curry and the "southwestern" rice looked like really sparse stir fry and tasted like nothing. They did manage to serve it in a tortilla, score one point for them. It was laughably bad.
After finding our way out of the Hameau, we left the palace. Richard had spotted a Tex-Mex restaurant right by the train station, so we stopped there for dinner. It was, hands down, the worst Mexican food I've ever eaten (did we think Mexican food in France would be edible?). Four of us ordered "chicken enchiladas." The chicken was seasoned with curry and the "southwestern" rice looked like really sparse stir fry and tasted like nothing. They did manage to serve it in a tortilla, score one point for them. It was laughably bad.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Dear Todd,
Please take me to Versailles again one day so we can walk through the gardens. I would like us to wear fine clothes and stay at the Trianon Palace Hotel. Any room is fine.
Love,
Your Francophile Wife
1 comment:
amazing! I would have been taking pictures of that beautiful hardware too!
Post a Comment