Versailles

This past weekend we went to Versailles, just a 40 minute train ride away to the south of Paris. When you pass through the enormous golden gates you enter another world. This is a world of gold, perfectly manicured gardens, gold, beautiful murals and paintings, gold, polished marble, gold, impressive statues, gold, intense history, and more gold.

Front gates of Versailles:

The main chateau is enormous, with bedrooms, drawing rooms, dining rooms, a chapel, and an opera house for the king's amusement. Learning the history as we went through was amazing. Each new king added more and more on to the complex, depending on his interests.

The chapel:

Most of the furniture was sold off at the time of the French Revolution when royalty fled to Paris for a while, so many of the rooms were pretty bare. Some had been arranged with replica furniture and others had certain pieces that had been recovered. But the artwork on the walls and ceiling was still very impressive. Almost every room had a mural on the ceiling and each had a specific theme. And royalty is always fond of artwork that features themselves.

The grounds behind the main castle are breathtaking and enormous. There are tons of intricately designed gardens, groves, and fountains throughout the property. There are a couple reflecting pools and an enormous Grand Canal.

The king's backyard:

Towards the back, about a 30 minute walk, there is Marie Antoinette's Estate, which started as a summer home and became a place for the royalty to get away from the government goings-on at the castle and relax. There were two main buildings, the Grand Trianon and the Petit Trianon, each with its own gardens, fountains, and pavilions.

Grand Trianon:

Petit Trianon:

Out past the Trianon palaces, Marie Antionette had the Queen's Hamlet constructed, and used it to teach children about agriculture and dairy farming. There were a number of guest houses, a mill, a lighthouse, stables, and farm buildings. She never stayed there herself, but threw a bunch of parties there. They still have animals there, and we saw rabbits, pigs, cows, goats, roosters, ducks, and a peacock! This was my favorite part of the property, and we wandered around the area for a while.

Farmhouse in the Queen's Hamlet:

The visit was a lot of fun, but boy were my dogs barking by the end of it. Check out more pictures from Versailles in the gallery!