Versailles

Last night, I did not sleep well. I woke up still sneezing, but figured I could stay home and feel lousy or go to Versailles and feel lousy. So I went to Versailles.

One note: I've realized this blog is replacing the journaling I usually do on trips like this, so feel free to look at the pictures and move on if you're not so interested in the details!

It's a super easy train ride on RER-C, one of the commuter trains, straight from central Paris to Versailles. Thankfully I guessed the right direction leaving the station (I always get so turned around coming out of a train station, annoying), and headed toward the Chateau.

I'm very glad I made the 7:54 train to arrive before the 9:00 opening, because there were already at least 75-100 people in line ahead of me. Thanks for the tip, Rick Steves! The line grew exponentially after I got there, kind of ridiculous.

Yet somehow the palace itself didn't seem so terribly crowded. I think I skipped a chunk of museum-type rooms (rather than restored rooms, if that makes any sense) by accident, but whatever.

Here are some interior photos:

A ceiling that caught my eye somewhere in the King's rooms. They were all intricate and full of meaning for Louis XIV.

 

Louis XV, I believe. Plus some super hideous wall treatment. To think I worry about wearing clothes that match... 

Louis XIV, the man of the house. 

One of the most famous portraits of Louis XIV. The one in Grout, maybe? Might not be quite fancy enough for music history... Those dancer's legs!

Hall of Mirrors. So over the top, especially for the seventeenth century with its 27 huge mirrors. The Treaty of Versailles was signed here in 1919, so it also has modern historical significance. 

 

A ceiling in the Hall of Mirrors that made me chuckle... Check out the cherubs playing cards at the base of Louis XIV-as-Roman-Emperor's throne. 

Louis XIV's bedroom, where there were all kinds of weird rituals with aristocrats fighting over who got to hold the candle while he got into his PJ's... I mean, seriously?

 Then I headed outside to the incredible gardens:

The orangerie. Lemon and orange trees were brought out in silver pots when Louis XIV wanted to see them in the spring/summer.

The view from the back of the Chateau to the other end of the Grand Canal. Seems to be endless, which is the whole point. Tricky.

The fountains turned on for an hour at 11:00. This is Latona basin, which tells the story of Apollo, Diana, and their mother, Latona. Zeus turned people into frogs for mocking her, so some of the statues are humans on their way to becoming frogs. (I don't think the videos are working, but I'll see what I can do about that tomorrow!)

 

The Ballroom Fountain, completed by 1683. Musicians would play from above the cascade, and Louis XIV would lead dancing where we're all standing (including the man awkwardly in my way on his cell phone). 

Mirror Fountain, a modern fountain dancing to Charpentier Te Deum, I believe. 

Since Versailles didn't have Roman ruins of its own, Louis XIV created the Colonnade, which featured a fountain under each arch. Maybe at some point in the summer the middle pool is filled as well. The statue is of Pluto, and there was some pretty serious Lully opera being piped in dramatically.

After the gardens, I had some lunch and went to check out the Trianon Palaces, which began as Louis XIV's escape from his escape... and later Marie-Antoinette's ridiculous playground.

 Of course this palace had gardens, too.

Back of the Grand Trianon from the gardens. Certainly simpler than Versailles, but... goodness.

Marie-Antoinette's French Pavilion, where she and a few friends and family members could spend summer evenings. Because the Chateau and the gardens and the Grand Trianon and the gardens weren't enough. What a jerk.

From the Pavilion to the Petit Trianon, which was built for one mistress and then housed another mistress of Louis XV.

Marie-Antoinette's "Rock," which creates a fake waterfall next to the Belvedere "palace", which was basically a pavilion for entertaining. What a jerk! Hidden to the right of the Belvedere was a secret grotto, because, why not?

As if all that wasn't enough, Marie-Antoinette ALSO built a Hamlet with twelve buildings where she could pretend she was a peasant. When did she have time for this stuff? Her residence (right) is being restored, and since Dior is sponsoring the work, there's a weird façade up there right now. And to the left... yes, that is a lighthouse. For a pond.

The Hamlet also had a working farm. Today there are multiple breeds of chickens, sheep, goats, donkeys, rabbits, dogs... None of which I got to pet, which I might as well blame on Marie-Antoinette, who obviously had the perfect life pre-beheading.

The "Temple of Love," which looks pretty from the Petit Trianon. Expensive lawn ornament!

My timing worked out quite well, as a few rain drops started falling and I was able to run (literally) and catch a bus back to the train station. If you plan on coming to Versailles someday, leave yourself at least six hours and take your time - it's unreal how much there is to see, not to mention maintain! It seemed like many people didn't go beyond the main gardens, and I suggest seeing more. Definitely worth it! Had I not been so tired of sneezing and blowing my nose, I probably would have stayed longer to see the afternoon fountains that weren't on in the morning.

Tomorrow is mass and an organ concert at Saint Sulpice, and then some more museum hopping on the Left Bank. And I might try a run depending on when I wake up... I have seen a lot of runners, which makes me feel better about getting out there myself!