Day eight: Tuesday, March 10, 2015

Bonjour,
     Today was an early morning as we had to catch the train out to the town of Versailles.  Plus, I wanted as much time as possible to explore the palace and gardens. It was a dreary day today with intermittent periods of mist. Thankfully there never was a downpour.
    Outside the train station in Versailles was a Starbucks. Everywhere in Paris there is a coffee shop/café where I can get all kinds of coffee infused drinks. This doesn't help me since I don't drink coffee. I have been wanting some chai tea. Sometimes being away from home can make me a little homesick. I was able to enjoy my chai tea on our walk to the palace.
   It was a 5 minute walk from the train station to the palace. We turned the corner and were in front of a grand building with golden gates! The bottom floor was a lot of history of the palace to include the building process. The palace is a symbol of the opulent and narcissistic nature of King Louis XIV. In his chapel the "subjects" would turn to face King Louis and worship him worshiping God. He truly believed he was the center of the universe, hence his nickname: the Sun King.
    The palace was beautiful. The most stunning room was the Hall of Mirrors. An entire wall of mirrors was intended to fill the room with light from candles at night and to reflect the beautiful gardens during the day. Three generations of kings inhabited the palace and each left their mark.
   Next was the impressive and expansive gardens. I was told that the gardens would take about 2 hours to explore, which I thought was a little much. Again, I was wrong. I could have spent all day there. Since it was the off season, most of the fountains were off, the statues were covered, and most of the smaller or intimate gardens were closed. Regardless, it was still breathtaking.  I definately want to visit again in the late spring or summer to see all the green spaces alive and vibrent. All of the trees looked like they were starting to bud, but no leaves yet.
    We made our way to the Grand Trianon, Petite Trianon, and Queen's Hamlet. These are all smaller mansions intended for a more private or intimate life outside the main palace. It was mostly used by King Louis the XV and XVI. The Petite Trianon became a gift to Marie Antoinette, where she preferred to reside.
    The sky was getting darker so we decided it would be a good time to head back. We decided to stop into McDonald's for a snack and compare the French version. The McCafé was an actual café separate from the main register.  There were self-service ordering kiosks that allowed you to place and pay for you order in multiple different languages.

We took the train back to Paris and had dinner at another café.  Not as good as previous experiences, but it was still tastey. We started to get packed as we are leaving Paris tomorrow. For dessert, we went out into the neighborhood of our hotel and had cremé brulee. It was delicious. Tomorrow we plan to go to the Musée Rodin before flying to Florence. 

Au revoir 

The front of the palace. Golden gates line the front with a gold topped roof.

A wider shot to see the whole palace. It was raining when we arrived. 

The hall of mirrors. The mirrors on the left help reflect all of the light from the candles and help show off the gardens to the right.  It is a historical place as many events occurred in this room, including the signing of the Treaty of Versailles. It was one of the peace treaties that ended WWI. 

The chapel. It is one of the only places where Christ is represented in the palace. The rest of the palace infers Louis XIV as ruler of all. 

A better look at the organ and the wonderful artwork on the ceiling of the chapel. 

Most of the rooms have amazing artwork on the ceiling. Each room had a different theme.

View of the Orangarie. King Louis XIV had orange trees that were potted. On nice days he would have them wheeled out. When it was cold, they were kept in the greenhouse. His egomania was heightened as people revered him for being able to grow orange trees in France. 

Panoramic view of the back of the palace. All of the space to the left and right are large pools with fountains and landscaping. It is hard to tell in this photo. 

The Apollo fountain. This is the largest fountain at the bottom of the long green. Most of the fountains were not on as it is still the off season.

The Temple of Love was comissioned by Marie Antoinette to be placed in her gardens at the Petite Trianon.  

One of the working fountains. These pictures do not do the gardens any justice. They are so expansive and georgeous.  Originally there were 1500 fountains on the property, of which only 300 remain.

Le big mac? The ordering kiosk at McDonald's.