Une petite visite au Château de Versailles

Today I spent all day in Versailles! Ah, there will never be enough words or enough pictures to perfectly capture the beauty and tranquility that is the Château de Versailles. A couple of us spent some time in the gardens a couple of weeks ago, and while it was wonderful, this time it was even more perfect.

After waiting in line to get in, I was finally able to walk around the beautiful palace where it seemed so bizarre that the kings and queens of France had walked. Besides the overwhelming crowd, I was able to take my time and enjoy the enormous and historical palace.
First I walked through several rooms, some describing the different stages of how the palace changed over the centuries to how it currently looks now. Then on to some other rooms for the cabinet, a couple of “bedrooms,” all were very elaborately decorated with paintings and furniture but quite small for such lavish people. And then it was there. The Hall of Mirrors. It was something I knew I had to see, and it was gorgeous. The mirrors looked a little dirty, but the chandeliers simply made the long hall look wonderfully extravagant. Despite a little bit of dust, the Hall of Mirrors still seemed to shine.

Continuing on, I saw the king’s bedroom...

One of Marie Antoinette’s bedroom....they slept separately? Weird.

They also held public dinners where people would just come to watch them eat...also weird.

What really caught my attention walking through the palace were the art installations. At the end of the Hall of Mirrors there was a pair of high heels made out of casserole pots and lids, at the opposite side of the room where they ate, there were two lobsters made out of lace called Le Dauphin/La Dauphine. In the next room there was a helicopter made out of feathers, and then in the hall following there were even more art installations on the ceiling of odd creatures called Royal Valkyrie, all done by Joana Vasconcelos.

Once my exploration of the palace had come to a close seeing all of the bedrooms, apartments, and cabinet rooms, I decided I needed to go back to the gardens and spend some serious time there. I unfortunately had to pay to go there today since it was Tuesday and every Tuesday they decide it’s a day to place music. I decided to start as far back as I could at the Grand Trianon, where Marie Antoinette and the other women of Versailles would spend their time being oh so lavish. It was basically a big building just for them to sit around in several different rooms, play music, hang out, party, along with an incredibly beautiful garden in the backyard. Marie Antoinette had her second room in here as well.

Moving on to the Petit Trianon where Marie Antoinette would play some pool, the other women of Versailles would hang out here too, or if Marie Antoinette didn't like her other two rooms, she could sleep in the Petit Trianon as well.

Then walking outside of the Petit Trianon, there were a few walkways to get to the Hamlet of Marie Antoinette. I could have spent all day just in this part of the gardens. There was lavender, everywhere. She used these cute little cottages to pretend that she was a peasant, for whatever reason. Whatever it was, it was beautiful. Flowers were everywhere, little vegetable gardens, countless pathways. There was also a large pond with lily pads and coy fish in it.

After sitting in here for not long enough, I decided it was time to go back to walk around the inner gardens. Here I saw the Colonnade...

The Mirror Pond....

The Ballroom....and by this time, it was time for the gardens to close.

I spent about a total between the two days, 10 hours in Versailles and still wasn’t able to see everything. There’s so much walking, looking around, things to see, it would take forever just to be able to see everything. Goodness knows I didn’t even see everything in the palace. Like I said, I spent quite a bit of time there and was able to thoroughly enjoy it, but no matter how much I describe how beautiful it was or how peaceful it was to just walk through all of that greenery, or however many pictures I took, it really cannot compare to being there. I literally had to consciously remember to breathe after stepping outside of the palace. I only hope I have another opportunity to see this beautiful place again. It was so worth it, the sketchy ride on the RER, the long wait to get in. Maybe next time I’ll be able to relax even more and sit in the grass and have a little picnic or ride a bike all around Marie Antoinette’s lavish estate...only maybe though. Until next time...adieu :)