Versailles was pretty amazing. I was quite taken aback by the fact that the front of the castle is pretty close to the main street. There is a stone entry way and parking lot, but it isn’t set back by a huge expanse or anything. Having checked my luggage I headed into the chateau with 5000 of my closest teenage friends. Damn the French weekday field-trips. There were people everywhere
and while the décor and such was impressive, I was strolling quickly through the majority of it because I was so annoyed by the people. When I got outside though it was another story. The gardens were absolutely amazing. I think I was expecting real flower gardens or something, but really it was a lot of trees and shrubs that went on forever. The place was massive. I had changed to flip flops because it was quite warm and shouldn’t have because I walked probably 6 miles getting around the whole place. I saw Marie Antionette’s “estate” and it was pretty cool. I thought it was interesting that she said she got tired of lines and symmetry in the gardens so she had an English garden planted that was just a free for all and not really landscaped at all. She also had herself a hamlet built, which were buildings that resembled the ones in th
e town where she was born. I thought it was pretty neat. She also had her own livestock brought onto her estate. The audio guide made a good point, here was the queen of France who could have anything she wanted and she wanted to have things which the peasants had. I have pretty much decided after my Versailles visit and the visit to the Louvre where French kings once lived, that being King would be pretty fantastic living-quarters wise. I’m not sure getting my head chopped off would be all that nice.
and while the décor and such was impressive, I was strolling quickly through the majority of it because I was so annoyed by the people. When I got outside though it was another story. The gardens were absolutely amazing. I think I was expecting real flower gardens or something, but really it was a lot of trees and shrubs that went on forever. The place was massive. I had changed to flip flops because it was quite warm and shouldn’t have because I walked probably 6 miles getting around the whole place. I saw Marie Antionette’s “estate” and it was pretty cool. I thought it was interesting that she said she got tired of lines and symmetry in the gardens so she had an English garden planted that was just a free for all and not really landscaped at all. She also had herself a hamlet built, which were buildings that resembled the ones in th
e town where she was born. I thought it was pretty neat. She also had her own livestock brought onto her estate. The audio guide made a good point, here was the queen of France who could have anything she wanted and she wanted to have things which the peasants had. I have pretty much decided after my Versailles visit and the visit to the Louvre where French kings once lived, that being King would be pretty fantastic living-quarters wise. I’m not sure getting my head chopped off would be all that nice.
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