Versailles

Yesterday we took the RER train out to see Versailles. The grandeur and wealth of the Kings of France is almost too magnificent to believe. We toured the main part of the castle (including the King and Queen's bedrooms) the residencies of the Dauphin (prince), the main parts of the extensive grounds and gardens, and the Grand Trianon. Our Versailles One-Day Pass should have given us free access to the electric train that takes you all around the grounds, but apparently things have changed, and it now costs 4 Euro to ride (that's with the Pass!) No way, Jose. So... we walked the entire day, and by the time we left Versailles, I was in serious pain and we were both completely wiped out.

Some of the highlights of Versailles were the paintings by Charles le Brun, the official painter of the King, who was responsible for so many important projects at the castle and throughout Paris. The Opera House was also especially neat to visit.

Not Charles le Brun, but Hyacinthe Rigaud's painting of King Louis XIV. He was definitely the man.

Royal boxes at the Opera House. The stage pillars are hollow and don't actually hold any weight!

Most of the original furniture of the castle is gone (stolen during the Revolution) but the period furniture that replaced it is very opulent.

Beautiful clock in one of the antechambers

Louis XIV would have slept in a bed like this. He also received visitors in his bedroom, and the ceremonies of waking in the morning and going to bed at night were public.

The sheer size of the castle is nothing compared to the square mileage of the grounds; the Grand Canal (built solely for show, it used to have actual gondoliers trolling around on the water) is a mile in length. Our walk to the Grand Trianon, the royal home used as an escape from the pressures and publicity of Versailles, took roughly 30 minutes each way!

View of the grounds from the back of the castle. See the Canal in the distance? We walked out there!!

Fountain of Apollo at the foot of the canal

There were some disappointments during our visit. Versailles is undergoing a series of major renovations, as well as a complete redesign of the walking tours, to make it easier for visitors to negotiate the sheer magnitude of the castle. The most famous of all the rooms is, of course, the Hall of Mirrors... and it's being restored. Half the room was on display but half was covered up by an artificial hallway. I was really upset... but I guess it means we'll just have to come back some day?

Although we were zonked after our return to Paris, we went out to the Bastille area for our only "nice" dinner at a charming restaurant called L'Impasse. The meal was really fantastic. The restaurant was recommended in our Rick Steves book -- our bible, which we almost lost at the Grand Trianon! When we recovered the book, the guard was reading it and laughing at the funny French pronunciation guide at the back of the book. Whew, we almost lost you, Rick!

More later on our last day in Paris...