Even though she chose not to accompany the main party on today's tour, the experience and language skills of our guide were of great use to us today. Even without her, we were able because of her suggestions to get ourselves onto the correct RER (suburban train) and ride out to the suburbs. Our destination was the Palace at Versailles.
That's Louis XIV on his horse in front of the chateau. This next one is the palace gate. Nice use of gold, we thought.
This is in one of the reception rooms, the bust is, again, Louis XIV, the Sun King.
The Hall of Mirrors.
The King's bedroom, specifically his bed.
On out to the garden, that's the Grand Canal in the background, Mrs. Smith for scale.
The gardens are divided into many "groves". This is the King's Grove.
This is the Colonnade Grove.
This swan is at the Apollo Fountain, Grand Canal in the background.
Here's Mrs. Smith again, along the Green Carpet, next to one of literally hundreds of pieces of sculpture and one of the dozens of topiary bushes.
And finally, here is an example of having done the research paying off. We learned from the guide book that entry tickets were for sale at the City of Versailles Office of Tourism. This is the Office and the line we had to wait in to buy our tickets.
Here is the line at the Chateau, the line we didn't have to wait in. It is probably worth noting that the line is actually doubled at this point, leading all the way from the right edge of the photo down to the left edge and then behind the people you can actually see all the way back up to the yellow sign with the big "i" indicating tickets for sale.
We tried to go to the Musée de l'Orangerie after getting back to Paris this afternoon but the museum closed earlier than the guide books said. Instead we took a walking tour of Place Vendome.
That's Louis XIV on his horse in front of the chateau. This next one is the palace gate. Nice use of gold, we thought.
This is in one of the reception rooms, the bust is, again, Louis XIV, the Sun King.
The Hall of Mirrors.
The King's bedroom, specifically his bed.
On out to the garden, that's the Grand Canal in the background, Mrs. Smith for scale.
The gardens are divided into many "groves". This is the King's Grove.
This is the Colonnade Grove.
This swan is at the Apollo Fountain, Grand Canal in the background.
Here's Mrs. Smith again, along the Green Carpet, next to one of literally hundreds of pieces of sculpture and one of the dozens of topiary bushes.
And finally, here is an example of having done the research paying off. We learned from the guide book that entry tickets were for sale at the City of Versailles Office of Tourism. This is the Office and the line we had to wait in to buy our tickets.
Here is the line at the Chateau, the line we didn't have to wait in. It is probably worth noting that the line is actually doubled at this point, leading all the way from the right edge of the photo down to the left edge and then behind the people you can actually see all the way back up to the yellow sign with the big "i" indicating tickets for sale.
We tried to go to the Musée de l'Orangerie after getting back to Paris this afternoon but the museum closed earlier than the guide books said. Instead we took a walking tour of Place Vendome.
4 comments:
Ah, Versailles. Beautiful.
It also looks like a really nice day, though from Mrs. Smith's attire, I'd say cooler than it has been.
Nice use of the guide book! Paid for itself just there.
Um, this may be a dumb question, but is all of that really gold? Like gold, gold? Wonder where those quantities came from? Also, interesting use of feathers on the kings bed. Incredible. Hello Mrs. Smith!
p.s. Your talk of pastries forced me into Byerlys to acquire a raspberry croissant. Not the same, I'm guessing.
jilrubia
Hello jilrubia. Always nice to hear from you here.
No, it is not the same! My favorite pastry here is a mixed fruit tart (raspberry, strawberry, kiwi, pear in a delicious, sweet tart). Yum.
BTW -- excellent travelogue-ing.
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