We decided to spend our last day in Paris at Europe's largest palace,
Versailles. It was built for king Louis xiv at the end of the 1600s,
and it is monstrous. The palace served as home to louis xiv, louis
xv, and louis xvi before the French people over threw the kings and
put Napoleon in charge. After about a 30 minute ride on paris's RER
we arrived in the town of Versailles, a few minutes later we were
looking up a wide avenue at a mansion trimmed in gold, with a big gold
gate, and a large statue of louis xiv on horseback out front. At the
advice of our trips spiritual leader, Rick Steve's, we decided to go
around to the back to see the gardens and smaller palaces first. Thats
right, smaller palaceS. The gardens have an 8 mile cross section and
take over 40 minutes to walk across. There are marble statues and 300
fountains/ponds on the palace grounds, which pales in comparison to
the 1500 that were once here. While the palace was inhabited by king
Louis the fountains were only turned on when he walked past, at least
he was energy conscious.
We explored the smaller palaces, or trianons, first which was where
the french kings and queens came to escape the bothers of their main
palace, no wonder the french revolted. After a 30 minute walk back
to the main palace we took a brief break to rest. We found ourselves
next to a group of French school kids who amused themselves by
taunting Greg with some English curse words. One girl would say "fuck
you" in a shy French accent to see if he would respond, but of course
she only got a chuckle out of him.
In the main palace we followed Rick's self guided tour on our iPhones.
This was once again a great tour to follow, providing much of the
history that went along with each of the large ornate rooms. Louis xiv
built this palace as a monument to himself, and boy did he honor
himself well. Complete with a kings wing, queens wing, and the famous
room of mirrors. The last of which is a large hallway with many
mirrors, chandeliers, and windows looking out on the massive palace
grounds. this room is also where the allies and Germany came to sign
the shortly lived treaty of versailles following world war I. Much of
the furniture and decor within the palace are replicas because the
french people destroyed much of the originals during the French
revolution, which led to napoleons reign as emperor of France.
It was a day of interesting history and amazement at the self
indulgence of the great french kings. Tonightwe're gonna close out
our tour of Paris with some wine and walking around the famous artist
neighborhood of monmarte.
-The bear
Versailles. It was built for king Louis xiv at the end of the 1600s,
and it is monstrous. The palace served as home to louis xiv, louis
xv, and louis xvi before the French people over threw the kings and
put Napoleon in charge. After about a 30 minute ride on paris's RER
we arrived in the town of Versailles, a few minutes later we were
looking up a wide avenue at a mansion trimmed in gold, with a big gold
gate, and a large statue of louis xiv on horseback out front. At the
advice of our trips spiritual leader, Rick Steve's, we decided to go
around to the back to see the gardens and smaller palaces first. Thats
right, smaller palaceS. The gardens have an 8 mile cross section and
take over 40 minutes to walk across. There are marble statues and 300
fountains/ponds on the palace grounds, which pales in comparison to
the 1500 that were once here. While the palace was inhabited by king
Louis the fountains were only turned on when he walked past, at least
he was energy conscious.
We explored the smaller palaces, or trianons, first which was where
the french kings and queens came to escape the bothers of their main
palace, no wonder the french revolted. After a 30 minute walk back
to the main palace we took a brief break to rest. We found ourselves
next to a group of French school kids who amused themselves by
taunting Greg with some English curse words. One girl would say "fuck
you" in a shy French accent to see if he would respond, but of course
she only got a chuckle out of him.
In the main palace we followed Rick's self guided tour on our iPhones.
This was once again a great tour to follow, providing much of the
history that went along with each of the large ornate rooms. Louis xiv
built this palace as a monument to himself, and boy did he honor
himself well. Complete with a kings wing, queens wing, and the famous
room of mirrors. The last of which is a large hallway with many
mirrors, chandeliers, and windows looking out on the massive palace
grounds. this room is also where the allies and Germany came to sign
the shortly lived treaty of versailles following world war I. Much of
the furniture and decor within the palace are replicas because the
french people destroyed much of the originals during the French
revolution, which led to napoleons reign as emperor of France.
It was a day of interesting history and amazement at the self
indulgence of the great french kings. Tonightwe're gonna close out
our tour of Paris with some wine and walking around the famous artist
neighborhood of monmarte.
-The bear
and you thought we had a big house ! I love Louis XIV furniture !
ReplyDeleteBring a few pieces home for me !
And the rain continues.............
MOM