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| On Sunday we took the train out to Versailles, about ten
miles southwest of Paris. All
of the exhibits and areas are open on Sunday, including the Fountain Show
(Grande Eaux). We wanted to get the full benefit of everything.
Apparently, so did 30,000 other people. The place was mobbed!
And I walked Mom's feet "bloody". But Versailles is an immense city in
and of itself, and you can't imagine how vast it is until you see it.
It's also evident why the starving peasants must have revolted when they saw
the incredible lifestyle of the French royalty and court.
THE PALACE OF VERSAILLES
Main Complex
The
Palace of Versailles was the official residence of the Kings of France from
1682 until 1790. It was originally a hunting lodge, built in 1624, by Louis
XIII. Louis XIV expanded it, using it as a little lodge as a secret refuge
for his amorous trysts and built a fairy tale park around it. |
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The Chateau is comprised of the King's Apartments
(Apartments of State) and the Queen's Apartments.
The King's "Grand
Apartment" was quickly used only for state purposes,
whereas the first ladies of
France continued to live in the Queen's Suite. |
| The LONG Walk
through The Grand Park
The Grand Park, formerly an immense hunting ground, is comprised today of
the lesser of two original areas; what is now called Le Grand Parc was
formerly the lesser park; the original grand park was used for riding to
hounds, while the smaller was used for shooting, which was done on foot.
It is organized around the Grand Canal, an ornamental body of water
covering 105 acres and measuring over four miles around its edges. Flanking
the Grand Canal are orderly forest plots planted with local trees (oak, ash,
beech, cherry) yet cut by broad pathways. The park is littered with pools
and fountains, 32 of which create hydraulic effects.
Louis
also had an Orangerie with thousands of tropical trees and plants. Can
you imagine the amount of maintenance the grounds must have required??
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| Formal gardens |
Overlooking the Grand Canal |
Neptune Fountain |
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| Fountains |
Mom and Chris during Grande Eaux |
Mom |
| The Trianons
The Trianons comprise a separate complex away (far
away!) from the main chateau. (Trust me, it takes forever to walk
there!) According to history,
Trianon is the name of a
village which Louis XIV
purchased and then demolished in order to build 'a house for partaking of
collations' (light meals). The king could escape from the oppressive
protocol of Versailles and remain closer to his family at the Trianon.
The Grand or Marble Trianon, known originally as The Trianon, was later
joined by the Petit Trianon and the Queen's Hamlet.
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| Chris and Mom at the Grand
Trianon |
Grand Trianon |
Petit Trianon |
| The Queen's Hamlet
The
Queen's Hamlet is a picturesque little amusement village near the Trianons
where the queen (Marie-Antoinette) played at being a shepherdess.
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| One of the many charming
buildings in the Queen's Hamlet |
Fishery Tower (or Marlborough
Tower) |
Always eating - in this case, a
Jambon |
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