Versailles

Today, Ted and I went to Versailles, another place near Paris we didn’t have time to see on our 2016 visit to the city. Versailles started as a small hunting lodge for the king. It was enlarged by each of its three resident kings–most famously Louis XIV, the “Sun King”–and its opulence became the model for future European palaces. It is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Simply arriving at Versailles is impressive. The bright shine of gold is everywhere–on the buildings, on the fences, on the gates–anything that could be gilded is gilded. Note that there is even a large painting on the front of the main part of the palace.
We arrived early for our scheduled tour time, so we toured the gardens first. This is only a small part of the gardens on one side of the palace.
The back of the palace overlooks this garden and some lakes.
As with all the palaces we’ve seen in Europe, there are beautiful tapestries everywhere.
Another common feature of European palaces is beautiful artwork on the ceilings.
Of course, the highlight of Versailles is the famous Hall of Mirrors. The huge mirrors on the left and the crystal chandeliers reflect the light from the huge windows on the right to make this a bright, glittering, and very impressive corridor. The Treaty of Versailles that ended World War I was signed in the Hall of Mirrors.

Our guide shared two very human stories about Versailles’ history. First, Louis XIV, France’s longest reigning monarch (72 years) waged many wars. By the time he died, the country was tired of war (and broke). If a king isn’t waging war, he has time to make babies so, not surprisingly, Louis XV had 10 children–he made love, not war. Unfortunately, only one of his children survived.

The second story was about Marie Antoinette, and portrays her in a sympathetic way. She was only 14 when she married 15-year-old Louis XVI, and she was only 19 when she became queen. As a result, she was more naive than heartless when she reportedly said that if there was no bread for the people, “let them eat cake.” She and Louis XVI did not have children for a number of years. In fact, pundits were asking “Can the king do it?” Eventually, they had four children, although one infant died. Marie Antoinette was a very good mother, and cared deeply about her children. The portrait pictured below shows her with her three living children and an empty cradle to symbolize the child who died.

It was good to get back to our air-conditioned hotel, but the opportunity to see Versaille was worth the time. Tonight, it’s party time!