Our Day At Versailles

I think I've studied the French Revolution more times than I can count in my lifetime's worth of schooling. Some historians call it the most important event in modern Europe. But, that's an argument I'll leave for history majors. I actually had a whole section of my Honors seminar freshman year dedicated to the architecture of Versailles. So we didn't even bother getting an audio guide. I'm a bit of a know it all, and for once it was a little helpful.

Versailles is basically the pinnacle of French precision and beauty. The lines that the trees make are so sharp they could make you bleed. The furniture and decorations in the rooms inside the palace are intricate and breath taking. It was really such a cool experience. I'd seen so many pictures of it and studied it so many times. Being there felt like everything came full circle.

The front gate.

And when I say that we did Versailles, I mean we really did Versailles. We not only did the Chateau and gardens, but also the two private residences and the queen's hamlet. And we did it all on foot. Because bikes are for the weak.

This post will be a lot of pictures but I'll try my best to tell the stories that go along with them.

The actual Chateau is probably the most popular tourist part of Versailles. There's so much to see and there's so much original furniture. Not to mention the Hall of Mirrors, which is one of the most spectacular places I've been in my life. 

Mirrors on one side, windows on the other, chandeliers above, and me in the middle.

Totally took a selfie in the Hall of Mirrors. I'm a little ashamed. But not really.

One of my favorite portions was when we got to walk through the Queen's bedroom, last used by the infamous Marie Antoinette.  The bed is only a replica due to the peasant women who stormed the castle calling for the queen's head. They killed several guards before reaching her bedroom. The queen just managed to escape. So they destroyed her bed instead.

That little door was how she got away.

 Going during the off season had both its benefits and negatives. It was great because it wasn't as crowded and we never had to wait for anything. However, the gardens weren't quite so green as we would have liked. The fountains weren't on and all of the sculptures wrapped for the winter. They were still beautiful though. I can't imagine what they look like in the summer.

We also went to two private residences. One was for the king and his family to get away from palace life at the Chateau, where all of the nobility also resided. This was also used later by Napoleon. 

Napoleon's study. No big deal right?

We also saw the Queen's private residence which was used by both Marie Antoinette as well as many famous mistresses such as Madame du Barry. It's very quaint. It's also one of the few places on the residence that Marie really had a hand in decorating. Let me just say that she had a real eye for that sort of thing. 

Marie Antoinette's bedroom

As sort of a last minute burst of energy, we decided to make the trek to the Queen's Hamlet which is really far away from the main grounds. We had sort of made our way over in that direction as we saw the private residences but, the walk back was actually a little painful. The Hamlet is so quaint and lovely. I can really see why Marie Antoinette enjoyed spending time away from the palace there. Fun fact though, she never actually slept there. It's basically just a mini village, fully functioning, for her to hang out in. It also has the cutest pond ever, complete with swans. I can't imagine how gorgeous it must be in the summer there.

I'm so glad I was able to make it to Versailles. It's another one of those things that I can cross off of my bucket list. It's funny because I had to convince Stephanie to make the day trip with me when we were initially planning our trip-- but it was mostly because she had no idea what it actually was. It's historical significance coupled with the sheer visual artistry of it makes it such an amazing place to visit. She ended up being so glad we went. And I think I took about a thousand pictures.

xoxo

lauren