Chateau de Versailles - Entrance
I’m letting out some steam now, planning one week of just idling the time away at home, or sort of. Just doing the things I really want to do. One of these things is keep writing blogposts to share my views of Paris and life with you! I have some precious pictures of the Chateau de Versailles, where I went with my family a couple weeks ago.
I had visited the Chateau before, 32 years ago, on motorcyles, with a German and two French friends. Hey, I’m not that old? 
This time we took the bus. And the metro first. We went early, to avoid crowds. I can’t remember if the central entrance was as GOLDEN as this 32 years ago. I bet not. I don’t know, they must have re-done the guilding recently cause it looks so very golden and new:) We had booked tickets via internet, which was fine because we got inside really quickly. Once inside, we and all the other visitors (there were already many of them, despite the relatively early hour ) were all equipped with those audio-players, tripped over each other while figuring out how those things worked…
We went from room to room, trying to admire the paintings and the furniture and the wonderful lusters. I must say that this was made difficult because we were stuck in a crowd of Japanese tourists firing their cameras at every little detail on the wall and in the room, (sorry Japanese fellows, I don’t want to offend anyone here but you gave us a hard time in there) and not letting us go by a little more quickly:) So I unfortunately didn’t look much at the wonderful things exhibited but rather looked out of the windows onto the gardens, and admired the vastness.
There were two stories to visit and my mom had to take the elevator cause she doesn’t walk so well. A nice person took my mom, my dad and me in charge and accompanied us to a distant, otherwise inaccessible elevator, while the others, my husband, brother and sister in law went on with the crowd. Now came part of the visit which I loved: we had to follow the guard along several empty hallways, corridors and enourmous rooms, beautifully wallpapered, with marvellous lusters and furniture, and there was not one other tourist in there! I took only one picture, the one with the wide luster in a stairway, and I love it.
Chateau de Versaille - Inner halls with beautiful luster
During the second part of the visit on the second floor, we saw the famous Mirror Gallery, I’ll have to show some pictures of this in my next post. For today, we are heading out now to the gardens of the Chateau de Versailles, were we stop at the “Petit Trianon”, the Quenn Antoinette’s “Playground” a vast area with large lawns, ponds, little bridges, and 12 romantic little cottage-hamlets, which she had built so to be able to ran away from the court’s stiff etiquette as often as she was allowed to. Don’t think about the money it took to build that while her subjects were having trouble to earn their daily bred! No. Just walk and admire those perfect little farm-houses with read-roofs, timber-framing, external circular staircases, and little bridges integrated, passing over brooklet full of carps who come and beg for food when you look at them:). Ok, enough for today, take care, have a wonderful weekend. See you at the Chateau de Versailles soon!
Chateau de Versailles - Beautiful statue at a fountain in the gardens
Chateau de Versailles - Miss Doodle getting dressed for the ball
Chateau de Versailles - Le petit Trianon - Queen Marie-Antoinette's "Playground"
Filed under: ILLUSTRATIONS, PHOTOGRAPHY, sightseeing notebook | Tagged: ILLUSTRATIONS, Miss Doodle, PHOTOGRAPHY, VERSAILLES, WATERCOLOR STUDIES
Loved this! I visited Versailles in December of 1989. At first I was a little disappointed that only a few pieces of original furniture remained, but overall it was extraordinary. Thanks for sharing!
Heidi, For me it was the same, I thought: “Oh, this is it?”:) but at the same time I just wanted to get out of there as it was so crowded in every “visitable” room…
Thanks so much for this visit. I haven’t been to Versailles in years and you have definitely whetted my appetitie for a stroll there. Until then, your lovely photos and guided tour will do. Looking forward to more..
Hi Lorenzo, thanks for your visit and comment, there will be more tomorrow or after tomorrow, don’t forget to check.
Oh, no the stairs are in such bad shape…..what happened?
It was in perfect shape when I lived there….but that was 35 years ago!
I had such wonderful walks in the “Hameau de la Reine” with my friends. We were there every weekend.
Thank you for sharing.
Love,
Danielle
Danielle, hi, thanks for visiting, I know that you waited for those pictures:) I don’t know what happened with the stairecase, but you have to know that the Petit Trianon was closed for many many years and has only be restored and opened for visitors a couple of years ago! I think, during the time it was closed, things just rotted away, I don’t know. I hope they’ll restore the staircase, as it is so beautiful.
It must be nice to live near the gardens, I would go there often, it’s so peaceful and beautiful.
Andrea, this is a lovely post and I have to agree with you about not thinking about all of the money being spent on this luxury while the subjects were starving. No, we just have to see this for what it is… As we were walking around there just two weeks ago now, Elizabeth said Marie led a fine life right up to the end when it was horrible!
The grounds of Versailles are so pastoral and around ‘Le Petit Trianon’ this is even more evident. I have heard it said that Marie-Antoinette even had the shepherds lead the sheep around with blue satin ribbons! When you see the opulence and feminine nature of her personal spaces you can see how this would have been part of the big picture for her.
Now, Miss Doodle has hit the nail on the head with her idea of preparing for a Marie-Antoinette party. Do you think it was held at that beautiful gazebo on the grounds near the main castle? Miss Doodle loves to flow off the end of your pen, doesn’t she?
Thanks for reminding me of this lovely place in France!
Kim, it’s a bit weird to see those pretty houses and think that they were just there for amusement. And went we looked at them, I thought that it would be so much nice if they were inhabited now. Of course, the people who would live in there would perhaps not appreciate all the tourists awing and oh-ing around the house:) We also talked about Marie-Antoinette and the final destination who waited for her, and it is said that she went with her head up high, with dignity. At least, that makes her sympathetic, I guess.
Yes, we might only think of children having these kinds of places, but at ‘Le Petit Trianon’ everything was so much more grand than you would think of a home for a person…a mansion, if you will rather than a castle, maybe. You are right, it is weird by our standards, now. I think you are right, who would want people ohhhing and ahhhing over their homes, then again sometimes people do like that, so I don’t know.
Well, if you can go with your head high to something like that, then there is a great deal of dignity! Guilt is a wasted emotion, so I suppose this is something she understood. I am sure, in the end (and maybe in the beginning) she had sympathy. This could have been her reason for not wanting to be at the castle so much, uh?
It is a great story, too! Thanks Andrea!
An einem schönen nachmittag wie heute möchte ich schon gerne mit miss Doodle im Versaille spielen, angezogen wie Marie-Antoinette und wenn du kommst und hungrig bis und brot möchtest gib ich dir kuchen.
Ist das ok?
Wunderschön dieser post Andrea. Gerade vor ein paar tage sah ich ein film über Marie-Antoinette und jetzt freue ich mich sehr über deinen post.
Geniesse das zusammensein mit deiner familie.
Alles liebe
XXXm
Hallo Martine:) Ja das würde mir auch gefallen. In einem dieser Häuschen dort war die KÜCHE eingerichtet, dort wurde für Marie-Antoinette und ihre Gespielinnen (und Liebhaber vermutlich:) gekocht, gewaschen etc. Deshalb denke ich, dass die sich wirklich in diesen Häuschen aufgehalten haben! Ich würde auch gerne mal so ein Kleid anprobieren, mit Krinoline und allem Drum und Dran, und der dazugehörenden Perücke oder hochfrisierten Haaren:)
a lovely place. the playhouse is so interesting. the indulgence! those front gates too are amazing. thanks. yes, kick back and relax, good idea.
Oh wow, thank you so much for allowing me a peek through your visit. The architecture and detail is astounding…the playground, just amazing to look at and imagine how it must have been. Such a treasure! I LOVE Miss Doodle’s ball fashions, must be a hoot getting ready for the ball. The details and colors are delicious!