Wednesday 13 June

Our next planned outing with the Bernard's is to the Palace of Versailles.  We needed to leave early as it was 200 kms away and a 2.5 hour drive if the traffic is OK.

Palace of Versailles Links:

The Palace of Versailles - Pictures and Visitor Information

Wiki

Christopher and Ludivine had also planned to visit the British Consulate in Paris to lodge Christopher's family visa application, they would then join us at the Place of Versailles.  A close family friend of Jacqueline's, Natalie also wanted to join us, meaning there was 7 going to the Palace of Versailles.  Fortunately Natalie lived in the direction we were heading and about 50 minutes away. The plan was for us to arrive at the Bernard's by 7.00 am, have a very quick bite to eat and leave no later than 7.15 and be on the road before 7.30 am.

We got up early, giving Maria plenty of time to get ready, but she was going slow, it was then I realised that she had heard 7.30 am mentioned the night before and automatically assumed that was the time we were leaving our hotel.  After much discussion we left earlier than Maria planned and arrive at the Bernard's at 7.15 am.  Everyone was ready to go, Marc took Christopher and Ludivine to Paris, Jacqueline and Maria went with me to pick up Natalie.  We would all meet at the Palace of Versailles.

We arrived at the Palace of Versailles at around 10.30 am and managed to park close to the main entry gates.  Disabled parking does have its advantages!!

Maria, Jacqueline and Natalie

As we walked in Jacqueline made the comment that we were walking on the same stones that Kings walked on.  Nice observation but I don't think Kings actually walked anywhere, they were generally carried.  Perhaps, that's why they aren't around any more.

The stone road way royalty have walked on

It is some distance from where we parked the car at the front gates to the ticket office, we did not pre-purchase.  We made enquiries about the options and were advised that we could join a tour of the private apartments of Louis XV and Louis XVI, but the tickets had to be purchased from the ticket office on the other side of the square, a distance of some 3-400 metres.  Jacqueline and Maria weren’t happy.  We bought our tickets and tickets for Marc, Ludivine and Christopher.

Main gates to the Palace of Versailles

Looking back towards the street from Versailles

The main ticket office is in the building on the left of the photo as you walk up roadway to the Palace entrance.  We had to cross this area to another ticket office on the right but it is not in the photo

Picture taken from roughly same position as above but more to the right

After entering through security we were inside the Palace forecourt.  We made our way to the entrance where you started the tour of the Palace, picked up the audio-guide which help enormously.  The few pictures below do not give justice to the grandeur of the rooms and the huge and historic paintings and art work.  To think that this was produced in the detail and craftsmanship that it was some 300+ years old is incredible.  You will notice the large number of people doing what we were doing, looking in awe at what was created so long ago.

Huge painting mounted on the wall in the Hercules Drawing Room

Entrance to the Hall of Mirrors from the War Drawing Room

Chapel built for the King, he would attend prayers every morning as he was Gods representative on earth, apparently

For all of the wonder of the Palace, the Hall of Mirrors is a spectacular room to visit, its length and spectacle was almost too much to take in.

Looking into the Hall of Mirrors from the War Drawing Room

Looking at he Hall of Mirrors from the other end

The audio-guide provide a lot of information about the Palace, its design, details and the reasons behind why it was designed the way it was.  If you read the info in Wikipedia it refers to the cost of building it, however the building cost more than what can be reasonably calculated.

Looking out of the windows in the Hall of Mirrors to the extensive gardens

Looking at the main part of the building from the gardens, the Hall of Mirrors is the first floor

Opulence, extravagance and incredibly wonderful are not adequate to describe what the Palace of Versailles is really like.  It must be experienced.

Marc, Ludivine and Christopher arrived about 1.00 pm, our tour of the private apartments started at 2.15 pm so they did not have much time to look around the rooms of the Palace.

We started our tour of the private apartments of Louis Xv and Louis XVI with a briefing about what we were allowed to do and not allowed to do.  Our guide was very good, she knew her history of the Palace, life of the Royals and Court, she also described the controlled environment the Royal family lived.  The part that I found fascinating was the fact that the King (whether it was Louis XV or XVI) had no friends.  Everyone had a reason to be in the King’s presence.  The only time they appeared to have any private time was in their own apartments with their immediate family.  Even the ritual of getting up in the morning was choreographed, virtually with tickets being sold off.  It was a privilege (and a sort after one) to watch the King and Queen eat a meal.

Maria climbing the stairs to the Kings Private Apartments

This is the King's desk, it is made of steel and decorated with timber, it also contains secret compartments for secret and private documents and artifacts

The Kings personal toilet, you will notice it is velvet lined and bottom left is the bidet.

Music room, the instruments and gilding on the walls are all decorated with gold leaf, apparently most if it is original.

Main stairs tothe Kings private apartment which would be used by family only

After the tour we had a quick bite to eat before we headed off to the gardens and a tour of Mari-Antoinette’s Estate and The Petit Trianon.  At this time the weather was fine, a bit warm and sunny.

We caught the ‘train’ to Marie-Antoinette’s Estate.  Even this palace was impressive and had some interesting features which money can buy.

Part of the extensive gardens we passed going to Marie-Antoinette's Estate

 

Marie-Antoinette's Estate house, looking at it from the main gates

Maria standing in the doorway leading to the food warming room. Food was not cooked in the house, it was done elswhere and reheated in the kitchen

A private walk way at the rear of the house

The Petit Trianon was constructed so that Marie-Antoinette could walk around a village and obtain fresh produce without having to go to a real village.  It appears this was done to two reasons; 1 – Royalty don’t mix or shop with ‘commoners’; 2 – It was not acceptable for the Royal family to be seen shopping or doing ordinary things.

Whilst walking around The Petit Trianon, the weather began to cool and the clouds looked ominous, so we thought we had better head back, as did everyone else.  When we got to the ‘train’ it was already beginning to rain.  Maria, Jacqueline and Natalie managed to get seats, the rest of us had to wait in the now pouring rain.  Without umbrellas or rain costs we got soaked, the train arrived, we found reasonable dry seats and we drove back through the rain watching everyone else who got caught out by the sudden change in weather.

The freeways were choked with traffic, fortunately Marc was able to navigate through and past the blockages.  We stopped at Natalie’s home for dinner.  We had a great time with them and left about 11.30 pm, getting back to the hotel about 12.30 am.

Sun setting on our way back

The Paris fire service on standby at The Palace of Versailles, they are doing a great job of protecting a national treasure, even though it may be boring, that is the life of a firefighter until something goes wrong.

More information on the Brigade de Sapeurs-Pompiers de Paris Brigade (in French), English version Brigade de Sapeurs-Pompiers de Paris Brigade