Day Three:
Versailles
Oh Versailles.
Your palace, the treaty, the Sun King! So much rich history, so much
grandeur. I was in awe of it all, yes, jaw actually dropped in awe.
To see you in the summer when your gardens are blooming would
overwhelm me. I do believe I would faint.
Versailles! I got
to go to the Palace of the sun King, Louis XIV.
Swooning is a
distinct possibility here.
So here I am, a
nice foggy day, we're there before it even opens so we can actually
get in. There's a Russian tour group before us and about six
Japanese tour buses behind us. No joke on that by the way, I
counted. Six of them. There's also the same group of high school
kids who were on our boat last night. How odd.
I'm just in awe of
the golden gates. The front gate of the Palace of Versailles is in
fact painted gold. At one point it may have been actual gold, but
some how I doubt it is now. Either way, they're big, they're
gorgeous and they shine brightly even on this foggy day.
The Palace was
built because Louis XIV rightfully didn't trust Parisians who had
stormed into the previous lodging to check that he was alive when he
was all of eleven. No trust there, obviously. I wouldn't either.
It's like biking past this one house that I brace myself for every
time. They're dog is too big for that tiny fence, and barks up a
storm at the sight of me. It's jsut around a corner too, so is a wee
bit startling.
Anyway, Louis had
huge gardens, as far as the eye could see, hundreds of fountains,
statues of people, rivers, and gods everywhere. He compared himself
to the sun god Apollo and this motif was absolutely everywhere. Here
the ceilings are painted in mythological scenes more than religious
scenes, and the floors are made of marble. Walls are decorated in
marbles of different color, or with huge tapestries.
Make certain you
explore every nook and cranny of this palace. I missed a room thanks
to a very stern security guard. Traffic is strictly one way. I did
get to see Marie Antoinette's room. It was lovely. The bed looked
short to me, but I must remind myself that people then were several
inches shorter than now. We seem to grow taller each generation.
They also had a display on Napoleon there, which included a red
major's uniform and a uniform from the dragon something that was
black.
Most importantly
was the Hall of Mirrors, in which I very nearly squeaked. In this
hall was where the Treaty of Versailles was signed, along with so
many other treaties. At the end is called the peace room, and shows
a scene of Peace being offered to Europa on the ceiling. Oh glory.
The mirrored wall ran the length of this long hall like room and
reflected the light from the windows quite well. they were, of
course, aged mirrors that needed to be re-silvered, but I doubt
anyone would dare to try and move such a giant sheet of glass!
Decadent was the
name of the game in this palace. There were statues every few feet,
the furniture was sumptuous, the ceilings were painted and painting
and tapestries hung on the wall.
The royal chapel
was huge and beautiful, and everything there, from the gardens that
are impossible to see in a day, to the statues and paintings are just
so lovely. The statues were all in, for statues, very dynamic poses,
that made them seem much more lively and lovely. More interesting to
look at, you now?
Aw, so many pretty
things. There was even a painting that was clearly having some
restoration work done on it, to my amusement. It was covered in
little pieces of tissue paper.
After this morning
of decadence, we went to the bus. I say went to the bus, but the
truth was, it was more like fighting our way through a mob of vendors
hawking counterfeit Eiffel tower key-chains. One of which started to
come on the bus. Me?
I took shelter
behind several of the tall guys and decided there was safety in
numbers. Someone else could make those guys back off. Here's a
hint: Don't look at them, don't look at their goods, and don't ever,
ever meet their eyes. They will stalk you one after the other and
follow you for several yards, trying to press things into your hands
and make you buy them.
This is a place
that you pretty much have to see yourself to truly believe it. To
take it in requires several hours, good walking shoes, and perhaps,
the late spring early summer for nice weather and flowers.
All of the Palace
wasn't open of course, but still what was seen was awe inspiring.
Besides, the palace is huge. I'd get very lost if it was all open to
the public.
One Final Byte:
French security guards take their job seriously.
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