Sharon1306's travel blogs:
|
|
  | |  |
Louis XIV's love affair with himself...
Entry 5 of 24 | show all | print this entry |
|
5. Louis XIV's love affair with himself...
Day 4. September 11th. Sunday.
Today is our last full day in Paris and I want to go to Versailles. I picked Sunday because that's when the fountains and music are on. We need to take the RER (line C5), and when I go to the ticket counter to buy the tickets (with the destination written down), the guy says to use the machine. Uh oh. We don't have any change, and I'm not sure how to work the machine. Godwin goes to the change machine and I try to figure out how to get the machine to stop spewing out options in french. Once the language is set straight, the rest is easy, and soon I'm holding 2 tickets. We hunt for the right platform and soon we are on the way. Everyone on our train look like tourists going to Versailles. Except maybe the guy opposite us who is wearing tennis clothes, has a tennis racket and is talking French into a cellphone. He gets off a few stops before Versailles at what looks like some sort of sports complex. But I digress.
About half an hour later we are at the Versailles Rive Gauche station. We follow the signs and everyone seems to be going to the same place. We buy some food to picnic in the gardens later. Soon the palace is in sight.
The Château de Versailles. It is bigger than I imagined.
Our first view of the chateau
The front cobblestoned courtyard is enormous and thousands of tourists are making their way towards the chateau. As we enter the gates, we see a huge statue of King Louis XIV standing regally to greet us as we marvel at the sheer size of the whole place. There is a separate entrance for pass holders and we use the pass to enter the State Apartments.We also buy audio guides, which is good because it gives us a better insight to the sheer grandeur of the whole place.
The Royal Chapel
Apparently, no one knows how much it cost to build it because Louis XIV burnt all the papers to keep the price a mystery. I can tell it must have been a LOT. All the gilded rooms and the art and the painted ceilings are so elaborate, its almost obscene.
The ceiling of one of the rooms in the State Apartments
The Hall of Mirrors is, well, overrated. Or maybe I'm not impressed because its so crowded that I can't take a picture without someone inadvertently walking in front of my camera.
The Hall of Mirrors, just see how crowded it is.
As we wander through room after gilded room, I can't help but think how ridiculously extravagant the whole place is. I mean, talk about inflated ego's. King Louis XIV really went all out. We exit, and check the maps and guides to decide our next best move. We go towards the direction of the line to enter the Queens Chamber's. Things are very chaotic here. The guy at the entrance says the pass is not valid. We go and ask some other official looking woman and she says yes, it is valid. The third official has no idea. We go to see where the ticket line is, and it is looooong. I decide to pass. I've seen enough royalty for one day. Really, after a while, one gilded room starts blending into the next. We decide to head to the gardens. The pass is not valid here either, but at least the queue is within sight, and soon we are in. We are both tired so we find the first stone bench to park ourselves and eat our lunch, gazing at the vast gardens in front of us.
Check out the vast estate and the gardens beyond.
There are fountains, a lake, grand canal, sculpted hedges, statues, huge vases and lots and lots of flowers. The gardens extend as far as I can see. Sadly, I'm not a plant person, otherwise this would have been flower heaven.
Once we have re-energised ourselves a little, I tell Godwin I had read they hire bicycles on the grounds, and that's the only way we'll be able to see at least a fraction of this vast estate. He can't believe I want to cycle again, and but gives in (let's just say I'm very persuasive...) So we set out trying to find the bike hire place. A short walk later, we find it, and hire two bikes after leaving behind some ID. Riding a bike on the estate is so freeing.
Riding through the estate.
Thank God we're far away from the maddening crowd... Feels good to be doing something other than walking, and the rhythmic pumping of my legs warms me up a little. I decide to head towards the Trianon and Petit Trianon.
Petite Trianon
After checking out the Trianon's (and taking a bathroom break... second worst paid toilet of the whole trip), we head towards the lake.
I suppose you might as well see the toilet I'm cribbing about. It does look a lot nicer in the picture, though.
Everyone here seems to be picnicking. There are boats in the lake, people walking dogs, other cyclists, people laying in the grass. We park our bikes and take in the view. The chateau looks formidable as it sits quietly in the distance.
View of the Chateau with the fountains on.
We buy some icecream and head back.
Icecream break...
I want to go to Marie Antoinette's Hamlet. So we take a detour in that direction on the way to the bike shop. The Hamlet looks a little out of place. It's like this luxury farm house, built so Marie Antoinette could "act like a peasant". Ah the whims and fancies of the rich. We return the bikes and walk back to the Chateau just as the "Grandes Eaux" or fountain plays begin. There are hidden speakers that play music and the fountains are turned on.
Horse and buggy rides (that we didn't go on)
Statues, fountains, etc, etc
Ah the beautiful gardens...
I had specifically picked this Sunday to be here because I wanted to be in the gardens when the fountains were turned on. Mission accomplished, we decide to head back. We have nearly spent the entire day here. On the train back, I think I can now understand the French Revolution. I can imagine how a poor, helpless, starving peasant in the throes of a famine must have felt seeing the extravagances and excesses of the royal family. No wonder they revolted.
Bye bye Versailles...
This is our last evening in Paris, and I still want to squeeze in some more sight-seeing (don't you feel sorry for Godwin). I decide to stop at the Rodin Museum. When we get there, the actual museum is closed, but the gardens are open, and are covered by our pass. I make my way straight to the Thinker. This was the one thing left that I had really wanted to see it, and I'm so glad I'm here. The Thinker, a symbol of freedom and knowledge, is thinking right in front of me (nth moment of the trip).
The Thinker
We walk about the rest of the gardens. The place is calm and soothing. After taking pictures for this Japanese girl (boy do they like to pose), we go to inspect the Gates of Hell. The Thinker was originally created for the Gates of Hell, but somehow took on a significance of his own. We contemplate it's motto - Abandon hope all ye who enter in. Very welcoming, huh. Anyway, thank goodness the doors to the Gates of Hell don't open because I'm not sure Godwin would have been able to resist pushing me in... (After all the walking, climbing, cycling and more walking I put him through, who could blame him...)
So we head back to the hotel to pack and have a quiet dinner and prepare to push off to our next destination...
Amsterdam - here we come...
To be continued...
6. Amsterdam - drugs, sex and bicycles?
7. Anne Frank, the girl who rose above the Holocaust
8. Windmills, clogs and homemade cheese
|
|
If you like this entry, search for other entries by sharon1306, from France or try a new search. |
| |
Back to Entry - Back to Home
|
36 votes 
