Palace De Versailles
Lost in Le Loupe and finally found Versailles.
It was quite the undertaking to find the ticket office in the Montparnasse Train Station. We asked and were told at least five different floors, directions, you name it. We did get it all sorted, but then never heard or saw our stop so we were on the train for an hour and a half before we realized something was very wrong. The little town that became our new tourist destination was La Loupe and we had two hours there before we could take a train back. We stopped at two different cafes, enjoyed two local patisseries and peeked in any shop that hung an open sign. It was a fun, happy accident and soon we were on the train again and vigilantly looking for the Versailles stop.
One bus ride later and we walked out to the most beautiful view. The Palace De Versailles is a magical place. Andrea and I were just giddy with excitement. We had 10:30am tickets, but they didn’t even bat an eye as we strolled up at 2pm…whew!
The first set of rooms, give you a taste of what is to come, but mostly I like it for the history the plaques tell you. The artwork is beautiful. Fierce found a few funny scenes in them as well, like cherubim playing cards.
Upstairs are King Louis the XVI and Marie Antoinette’s bedrooms and living quarters. They go on and on in endless, opulent beauty. I loved that you could see the gardens from almost any window. Andrea said Marie Antoinette’s bedroom was her favorite. There were black and white paintings on the ceiling that really stand out amongst all of the velvet, marble and color. Andrea noticed the curtains were a pretty floral and I liked how the sun was shining in just a bit to show them off. The whole wing was absolutely lovely.
As we turned a corner, I realized the Hall of Mirrors was coming up, so I put my hands over Fierce’s eyes and led him to the entrance. Then I lifted my hands and watched his reaction. He said later that he liked all of the chandeliers. I could just live in that room. The light from the windows plays off of the mirrors and it is just gorgeous. As we walked through, we took a moment to recreate a scene from the book, Hazardous Tales where Lafayette tripped over Marie Antoinette’s foot as they danced. Then, we took pictures of the statues, art and architecture like normal people.
Fierce said his favorite room was the Battle Galerie. There are floor to ceiling paintings of French battles throughout history. The hall is enormously long and Fierce said I should take a picture of any painting with an actual battle scene…I did my best.
At then end of the tour, Andrea and I decided to order some tea from the café just before the exit. We had little silver pots and felt fancy and girlish with our flowery drinks and mini jars of honey. It was a sweet way to end our whirlwind of a Parisian tour.
