Versailles

Versailles.
I'm not sure what I expected. Perhaps an elaborate castle surrounded by gardens and woods. Or a mansion akin to what one finds in Newport, RI.

I had no idea.

We were driving through a typical town in France, on the outskirts of Paris - an odd combination of suburbia and old-European village - when the road suddenly opened onto a very large courtyard-turned-parking lot. It surrounded by a network of imposing branches of building, which at first appeared to be separate and only upon closer investigation did I realize most of them were all connected, like massive fingers reaching out from the giant palm which is the heart of the Palace of Versailles.

The Queen of my family in the courtyard of Versailles

Approaching the gates.

The main entrance, but tourists are redirected through a security building on the side.

Major restoration work is in progress, including restoring all the gold-leaf and filigree along the entire exterior roof line.

The gardens of Versailles. Those ominous looking clouds in the background became foreground very quickly and prevented us from touring the landscape.

Bo & Vivi admiring the view.

The chapel for King Louis XIV where he attended mass every day.

The Famous Hall of Mirrors.

A view of one of the fountains from the Hall of Mirrors.

I have a ridiculous number of ceiling shots because EVERY single room had elaborately painted ceilings. They were dizzying.

You should be grateful I only included two ceiling shots.

The King's bedchamber. Sadly, this doesn't do it justice. It was WAY gaudier than it looks here.

The bedchamber of Marie Antoinette. It was from a secret door to the left of this bed where she attempted to escape the day the people of France stormed the palace.

My mom and dad (he's the one in yellow in the back) taking in the architecture.

 As usual, these photos completely fail to capture the grandeur of this palace. It was so completely over the top. Ornate to a distraction. And we didn't even see Marie Antoinette's separate estate on the other side of the grounds. Nor did we tour the grounds at all due to the rain. And yet, David and I still completely understand what caused the people to revile their king given that he lived like this while they literally went without food. Reign of terror indeed. I think I would have revolted as well.