7.17.09 Paris.

entrance to versailles. that sky shows the bleakness of the day.

Today was a day of conquering the magnificent Versailles. I didn’t really know what to expect because I had heard a lot about how large the estate is but I didn’t understand exactly how big it was. We arrived via train and walked out into the bitter cold of the day. It is so strange that in the middle of July in France I am cold. It was threatening to rain, but the wind is what created pain. It was bitterly cold and I was not prepared for that kind of weather. We sat huddled, waiting for our tour guide to show but little did we know that our longer than expected wait would be totally worth it once we met our, shall I say, eccentric tour guide. He walked up, but more flitted in fact and moved in a very jolty, spastic manner. His name is Sid and he had hair to remember; a rat tail braid going down his shirt into depths that he and his sweet wife only know. And his voice – lets not forget that voice that was so strange. It was almost Asian French and a combination that no person could imitate, so I recorded a small portion of our tour so you could enjoy his voice along with me.

even if this picture doesn't portray it, we were FREEZING

and there they are in all their glory...sid and his braided friend



listen carefully to how he says "louis the 14th" and imagine hearing that about 400 times in one day

We finally made it inside Versailles and the insanity of how huge the place was set in. Versailles was built in the 17th century and was first built by Henry the 4th as a hunting lodge because the land was perfecting for game hunting. Louis the 14th then took over and decided to make Versailles the new capital of France instead of Paris. It was a bold move and was the first city to be entirely man made. From the palace to the gardens, everything was made by man and nature was disregarded. It was part of the movement that man could overcome nature. There were 17 rooms that we visited starting with the royal chapel. How sweet would that be to wake up and have your own church you could walk to? I think it’s a nice idea and this chapel was impressive. We moved on into different salons and banquet halls that were used when greeting guests at the palace. I swear everything is gold plated or is dripping in gold in some form. The doors in one of the first rooms had the logo if you will for Louis the 14th and I loved how the L’s connected and made the symbol for his reign.

logo doors....notice those 2 L's connecting together.

room of chandeliers...hall of mirrors.

My favorite room was Marie Antoinette’s room in the palace. The chandelier in her room is the original one and is so exquisite. The fabric for the drapes, walls, and bedding are all original as well and the floral pattern is so beautiful. Each room had its own theme and color palette and always covered in gold. I was surprised at the amount of small rooms and not so many really large, open areas so that must have been the style back then or maybe that is why the gardens are so extremely large. We made our way out to the gardens and the enormity of them was hard to take in. I was also surprised to see a lot of gravel and not as much lush green as I expected. No doubt there is much greenery but I guess I expected a lot more on the ground and such. I wish the fountains had been on but the ponds and grand canal was incredible. Louis the 14th had 4 actual barges on his canal that he would use to get goods to and from Venice.

fabric in the queen's room

the original chandelier in marie antoinette's bedroom

back of versailles. there was no getting the whole palace in one picture. it is that big

the cutest topiary's i've ever seen

it just goes on and on and on...

We stopped and got the most wonderful lunch before finishing the rest of the gardens. I say the rest of the gardens loosely because we didn’t see ALL of the grounds as that would take several days I’m sure. We made our way to the Grande Trianon and to the Queen’s Hamlet aka Marie Antoinette’s countryside town. Literally there was an entire other town within the property of Versailles all just for the Queen. She had her own theatre, gardens, cottages, and lakes. You could tell you were moving farther away from Versailles because the gardens were no longer symmetrical, but were placed in a natural way. It looked as though the countryside had always looked that way when in reality, the land Versailles is on was once a swampland forest. It was cool to see the juxtaposition of the symmetrical gardens of Versailles with the natural and organic gardens of the Queen. It felt like we had left France and traveled on a weekend trip to the English countryside. There were adorable little cottages that dotted the landscape and beautiful gardens behind every building. It looked like a scene straight out of a painting with the blooming flowers and ducks in the pond. It honestly felt like we were at a Disneyland attraction where they recreate a famous place and you can go meet Mickey at the end, except that this was for real and all original buildings. I loved Versailles and even spending nearly 6 hours there, I don’t think we even brushed upon what it has to offer.

Brady and I with our chicken and mozza panini with a side of delicious crepe

the gardens at the little triadon

marie antoinette's personal theatre...quite impressive.

cottage at the queen's hamlet

the first spiral staircase or what looks like it could be

we made it to versailles! our only picture taken here

after an 8 hour day, we were in desperate need of what the french do best...pastries!

i must add here that we bought 6 bottles of this water because it was so cheap. pretty sure it is some sort of medicine filled with minerals that grit your teeth. not worth 6 euro.