Versailles
FranceOur tour was officially over after breakfast, but we decided to stay another day to see the Palace of Versailles. It became the seat of political power under King Louis XIV reign. The King thought he was Apollo, the Roman sun god, and named himself the Sun King. We said goodbye to Stephanie after a quick breakfast.
We realized we just missed the train and had to wait 40 minutes for the next one. Thankfully we got the right train and enjoyed the trip with all the college kids talking around us. We walked to the palace and headed to the entrance instead of getting in the big line. After walking all the way up to the entrance, we were told the line for the entrance started back where we started. Don’t make this same mistake. We had to wait perhaps 45 minutes to get into the palace.
The palace was looted in the French Revolution, so there was minimal furnishings, many of which were replicas of the originals. Some of the art from the Louvre resided in this palace, and we saw copies of the art we saw yesterday.
The palace was nice, but it did not blow me away as I was expecting. The hall of mirrors was a let down as the mirrors were all dark with age. It was a very long room however.
The true treasure of Versailles is the gardens behind the palace. There are 3 square miles of green space that include a grand canal, 50 fountains, 200,000 trees, 210,000 flowers (I spent a long time counting them all), a hedge maze, manicured lawns and so much landscaping.
With all the studying I did for this trip, I forgot to dive deep into Versailles. We were here on a water day where the fountains were bubbling. Certain fountains were working during the morning show and other fountains were working during the afternoon show. The map they give you shows which ones are working at what times. Here I thought they would all be on all day. Foolish me.
We had lunch in the garden, went through the paths of the morning water show, visited the canal, and went to the Petit Trianon. This is where Marie Antoinette took refuge from court life.
Did I mention it was 90 degrees outside today? With the heat and all the walking, dad looked like he was ready to go. We headed back to Paris. We finally got back to the room and started to pack for the trip back home. We enjoyed one last meal at the place we went last night. What an epic trip.