10th November Versailles

Today I got to spend the whole day at Versailles. I love the grandeur and opulence of this palace but can also understand why the French Revolution occurred. It is insane to think that people could live in such a place while people nearby in Paris were starving.

The weather forecast said possible rain so I opted for the Cityrama Versailles and Trianon tour rather than the bike tour I was originally planning to take. I had to be at the Cityrama office at 8:20...and already the sun was beginning to make an appearance, not the rain I though I might get! The first thing we did when we got to Versailles was a guided tour through the majestic palace. Everything about Versailles screams elegance, perfection and harmony and you really get a taste of the pomp and ceremony of King Louis XIV's court. Versailles was the hunting lodge of Louis XIII and it was King Louis XIV who expanded it and moved the court and government from Paris to here in 1682. We got a glimpse inside the chapel and saw rooms where the King received guests etc. The Hall of Mirrors is one of my favourite places in the palace and it is just so beautiful with its beautiful chandeliers to the stunning views out to the gardens, I would have loved to gone to a ball here! Then we went through the Grand Apartments and got to see where the King slept which has not long reopened after being closed for two years due to restoration work. Next was Marie Antoinette's bedroom, another favourite, and just about to be closed for restoration work...I would have been devastated to have missed this!!! Next to the 'jewellery box' (it's more like a big cupboard!) was the secret door that Marie Antoinette used to escape the mob who stormed Versailles on the 5/6 October 1789.

We then had about an hour to browse through the shop, use the bathrooms and wander through the garden before the 'day tour' group (me) met for lunch. OK so I may have gone a bit crazy on the Christmas decorations. I was feeling bad that I had only bought Napolean the other day so today I bought Josephine and then I thought I should get King Louis...I was at Versailles afterall and I also bought a fleur de lise that says Versailles too!

We were now down to a group of 9 for lunch, funnily enough they were all Australians (from Melbourne and Brisbane again) except for a couple from Brazil. We had a Rocket and Parmesan salad to start, Chicken and mashed potato (divine mash potato by the way) for a main and then the most delicious, decadent chocolate pudding, followed by coffee. The people in the group were lovely, many of them were on the last leg of their trip and heading home in a couple of days.

Next for me was the exciting part. I have now been to Versailles (including today) 3 times. I have been inside the palace twice and the gardens three times (with Trafalgar we couldn't go inside), but I have never gone beyond these areas. Today I was going to see the Grand and Petit Trianon's and the Hameau de la Reine. The Grand Trianon was built by Louis XIV in 1687 for his mistress Madame De Montespan. It is a small palace of pink marble and porphyry, much more intimate than Versailles but still quite grand. It also has lovely gardens. Then we walked to the Petit Trianon. This building was built bteween 1762 and 1768 as a place for the private use of Louis XV and Madame de Pompadour...having a mistress was quite common!!! In 1774 Louis XVI gave it to Marie Antoinette and it became her favourite place to stay. She used this place to escape the formality of court life and to shake off her royal responsibilities. No-one was permitted to enter the property without the Queen's express permission (not even Louis XVI apparently) which only alienated the court and nobility. It was a place for her of intimacy and pleasure and was designed to require as little interaction between guests and servants as possible. We got to see her bedroom here as well. Then we walked to the Hameau de la Reine which was built in 1783 for Marie Antoinette. It is a rustic retreat in the park of Versailles built by the Queen's favourite architect Richard Mique. It contained a meadowland with lakes and streams, a classical Temple of Love on an island with fragrant shrubs and flowers, an octagonal belvedere, with a neighbouring grotto and cascade. There are also various buildings in a rustic style inspired by Norman and Flemish design which are situated around an irregular pond fed by a stream that turned the mill wheel. The buildings included a farmhouse, a dairy, a dovecote, a boudoir, a barn, a mill and a tower in the form of a lighthouse. The largest of these buildings is the "Queen's House" at the centre of the village although she never actually slept there. Parts were destroyed and then abandoned after the French Revolution. Here Marie Antoinette got to 'play' the simple 'farmers wife' life she so craved. Just as we were walking back to the Petit Trianon it began to rain...the weather had been perfect up till then. A quick stop at the shop...this time I got a Marie Antoinette christmas decoration...and then it was back on the bus and back to Paris. Grabbed a mushroom quiche for dinner from the patisserie around the corner..and a strawberry tart ;) Another fabulous day in this beautiful part of the world! I'm still not coming home!!!