Versailles

---

After a bit of a slow start and a nice leisurely breakfast at Starbucks, we made our way to the train station and tok the train out to Versailles. The Palace of Versailles was the official residence of the Kings of France from 1682 until 1790. It was originally a hunting lodge, built in 1624, by Louis XIII. It  was expanded by Louis XIV beginning in 1669. He used it as a little lodge as a secret refuge for his amorous trysts and built a fairy tale park around it. The terrace that overlooked the gardens was removed to make way for the magnificent Hall of Mirrors, the Galarie de Glaces. It is here from which the king radiated his power and where the destiny of Europe was decided over a century. The French classical architecture was complemented by extensive gardens. Versailles became a place for the wealthy Parisians to escape the stench and bustle of Paris. It became such a crowed palace that the king built the Grand Trianon and Petite Trianon as a refuge from the Palace. Even though it was fall and many of the flowers had quit blooming and were taken out for the winter, and none of the fountains were spraying it was still a lovely and slightly surreal magical quality to the gardens. (For those of you who have seen The Man in the Iron Mask think of the gardens that you see during the pig chase and then imagine them bigger and more imposing).

---

Photos

Lunch
Baked potatoes for lunch.

Marie-Antoinette's Boudoir
In order to protect the Queen's privacy the simply panelled boudoir was equipped with an ingenious mechanism: its two windows could be covered by two pier glass mirrors.

Glass Mirrors
The mirrors were concealed (here) below in the lover part of the Trianon. Mechanic Merklein recieved 12,470 livers for this ingenious pulley system. His system has since been lost but was replaced with an electric one at the end of the 20th century.

Hall of Mirrors 2
This is where the treaty of Versailles was signed. The Peace Treaty with Germany that ended the First World War.

Bed Chamber
They had really short beds back then!!

Dinning Table
At 10 o'clock the royal family would sit down to dinner at a very formal dinning table while people sat across from them to watch them eat.

Gardens
A view of part of the Gardens from the Palace.

Potted Plant
This is such a cute idea.