Versailles

We took the train to Versailles for the day to explore the magnificent palace of Louis XIV.  Situated just outside of Paris this used to be a hunting lodge before the Sun King did some incredible renovations.  Here we are in front of the gold gates that separate the town from the palace.

A statue of the Sun King himself greeted us as we approached the palace.

Inside the palace was absolutely stunning.  I had been dying to see the famed Hall of Mirrors and it was even prettier than I imagined.  One wall is all mirrors and the other is all windows to the gardens with crystal chandeliers in between making everything sparkle.  Oh the parties they must have had in here!

And now the hall is filled with tourists. 

Most of the furniture was taken during the Revolution but some rooms are still furnished in the opulent style of the palace.  This is the Queen's bedroom and then her receiving room beyond the doorway.  I wonder if I would be able to sleep with all the nobles perched on benches around my bed.  No privacy here! 

As we traipsed through the palace we could see the amazing garden views from the windows.  The house sits on a hill and the gardens slope down to a mile-long grand canal.  The king built a village for Venetian gondoliers to live so that he could be rowed about on the canal just as if he were in Venice.  After touring the palace we strolled through the formal gardens down to the canal where we rented a golf cart and continued touring the grounds. 

We drove down to the back of the property where there are several other houses that the royal family used.  Apparently Marie Antoinette tired of the grand palace and would often stay in this house, the Petite Trianon to escape court life.  I would be perfectly fine living in her petite house!  It was furnished and decorated in a beautiful cream, blue and silver color scheme. 

We tooled over to the Grand Trianon, the house where the king kept his mistress, and then backtracked to the Petite Trianon.  Informal gardens extend beyond this house and behind Tessa you can see the Temple of Love. 

We parked our cart and walked to Marie Antoinette's Hamlet.  Wishing to live the country life, she built a quiet village here including a working farm and winery.  We were all a little tired by this point and I was personally bordering on grumpy.  So it served me right when my stomping resulted in me twisting my foot on the gravel path.  Danskos are awesome shoes for support but they are not forgiving on uneven surfaces!  I was actually lucky, Ryan caught me and prevented me from falling all the way down.  Even so, I still wanted to see the hamlet so we continued on our walk.  It was lovely, there were even fuzzy sheep grazing in the meadows.  As my foot started to throb and really hurt, we made our way back to the golf cart.

Ryan drove us past the many fountains.  In the summer and on Saturdays, the fountains are turned on and classical music plays throughout the garden.  We had purposely planned our trip so that we could see this Fountain Spectacular.  Ryan deposited Tessa and I on the steps of the palace and drove off to return our cart.  He was sweet saving me all the extra walking, Tessa was glad not to make the uphill trek too.  So we watched the fountains while Ryan hiked back from the grand canal. 

The formal gardens were still in full bloom even though the temperature was starting to dip.  We had a snack and just enjoyed looking at the flowers.  Tessa took lots of pictures and then we called it a day. 

After a little confusion at the train station, we were on our way back to Paris.  The next day we were departing for Clermont-Ferrand.