April 17 we got up and headed out to Versailles for the day. Built and then added to by Louis the XIII - XVI, the estate includes the well-known main palace and extensive gardens, as well as the smaller Grand Trianon, Petit Trianon, Marie-Antoinette's Estate, and Queen's Hamlet which were built to be "get-aways" from the main palace. You know, in case the 700 rooms in the main palace got boring after a while. We had a beautiful day to explore Versailles, which was nice since the entrance line was rather long. It's one of those that doesn't seem too bad until you realize that it snakes back on itself several times and is thus much longer than originally estimated. But it gave us a chance to take a few pictures and view the French police warning us about pickpockets. They'd find a female tourist and ask to borrow her purse, then put it over their shoulder and pull it to the front of them slowly while very clearly enunciating "Pick-Paw-ket."
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| Walking up to the main palace, which stretches on much larger than shown here. |
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| ALMOST to the entrance! |
Inside the main palace was amazing. Everything is so grandiose and larger-than-life. And you'd see one beautiful room, then step into another very similar one, and on and on...and start wondering what they possibly could have all been used for!
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| The first inside room we saw. Sets the standard pretty well... |
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| The hallways were so huge they needed statues to help fill 'em up |
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| This is the "upstairs" part of the first room we saw... |
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| ...and the ceiling |
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| Big rooms need big fireplaces... |
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| ...and big paintings |
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| Various thrones |
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| In the Hall of Mirrors |
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| The King's bed |
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| And the Queen's bed |
After touring the main palace we were hungry, so we stopped at the first place we found where I discovered I do NOT like duck foie gras. Probably don't like any kind of foie gras. Too bad cost of food does not always equal level of enjoyment. Next up were the main gardens, which are enormously vast. Trees, windy paths, flowers, canals, and fountains combine for the outdoor enthusiast's pleasure.
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| Behind the main palace |
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| I don't know why they needed "get-away palaces"...just hang out in the gardens! |
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| Right behind the main palace, looking out toward the gardens that stretch down past the canal |
We walked all over those gardens, back to the Grand Trianon, Petit Trianon, and the Queen's Hamlet. We saw a few people on golf carts and were mildly jealous, but it was a lovely day to walk and we enjoyed it!
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| The Grand Trianon |
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| Inside the Grand Trianon - more splendor, but not quite as big |
Next up was the Queen's Hamlet. Marie-Antoinette, seeking to flee the Court of Versailles, ordered the construction of her hamlet so she could "enjoy the charms of country life," surrounded by her lady's companions. It became a farm, directed by a farmer, whose products supplied the kitchens of the palace.
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| Pretty peaceful place |
Heading back toward the main palace, we caught the fountains. They only turn them on for a couple of hours on Saturday and Sunday, but we decided if we lived there we'd have them on all the time. Then did way back when...and it took the rerouting of an entire river to keep 'em going!
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| Fountains in the Grand Canal |
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| My favorite fountain, with the main palace in the background |
Versailles is an incredible place, and we had a great day there. Kinda wish I were back in the gardens right now...
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