We set the alarm this morning as we wanted to get an early start and were out of the hotel by 8am. With tickets for Versailles booked before we left England, the only thing we had to do was get there and deal with the inevitable crowds. All began smoothly as we managed to purchase the correct tickets at Port Royal and caught the train to St Michel Notre Dame. We followed the signs to the Yellow RER line and caught the next train and ….oops….ended up crossing the river which was not meant to happen. No need to panic, we simply alighted at Avenue de President Kennedy (what’s with that?), changed platforms and made our way back to Champ de Mars. All would have proceeded well if not for some issues on the line to Versailles. Aided by a very helpful French speaking American lady we discovered that we would have to catch a different line to Versailles Chantiers and from there catch a bus to the castle. Right!! Ok, we made it to the correct station but what about that bus? Playing follow the American woman we eventually discovered the castle was only a 10-minute walk away. And what was Zac’s first impression when Versailles came into view “I’ve seen better”! Admittedly there was a fair bit of construction going on but I would have to agree that from the outside, at a distance, Versailles fails to impress (though I probably would have said this a bit more quietly!)
"I've seen better!"
A decent queue was already forming and there seemed to be no organization whatsoever so we mingled with the crowds witnessing the art of queue jumping time and again (all very un-English!) As we had pre-booked tickets we did not really have that long to wait. Nathan had to hand in our tiny picnic knife at security – a bit too European I guess but how were we to cut our cheese and salami now! It was then out of the entry crowds and straight into the castle crowds as we began our progress through the castle itself.
The Royal Family
At this point I should be consoling you that no photos are available of the inside of Versailles due to a ban in photography. You are in luck, however, as, after watching countless people blatantly disregarding the very clear signs and the nearby security guards (were they even awake?), I decided to add my flash to the throng. What to say about Versailles? The court of Versailles was the centre of political power in France from 1682, when Louis XIV moved from Paris, until the royal family was forced to return to the capital in October 1789 after the beginning of the French Revolution. The family certainly had very flamboyant tastes and a penchant for a painted ceiling. It was just as well the ceilings were so decorative as in some rooms, due to the swell of people, that was really all we got to see!
The Hall of Mirrors was the stand out favourite for me. Measuring 73 metres long, 10.5 metres wide and 12.3 meters high, the hall is an ode to the king with the paintings on the vaulted ceilings illustrating the life of Louis XIV from the time he began to reign in his own right in 1661,until the Peace of Nijmegen in 1678. The Hall was used for large receptions, royal weddings and ambassadorial presentations.
The rest of our tour of the State Apartments of the King and Queen and the King’s Chamber passed in a press of bodies with tour groups constantly stopping to listen to their guides and us trying to squeeze past like sardines. All told though I believe it would be far worse in summer with the added bonus of the heat.
With our tour of the Castle complete we took a moment to partake in some morning tea on the courtyard steps before proceeding through to the gardens. By now the sun was really starting to pack a punch and the air was full of dust from the white gravel paths between the flowerbeds. Unfortunately, none of the fountains were in operation but this did not detract from the magnificence of the vast gardens. It truly was splendor on a grand scale and whilst hot, dry and dusty at least we could spread out and the kids stretched their legs running amidst the hedgerows.
We ate lunch by the Bacchus fountain then made our way toward the lakes. It was at this point that Nathan managed to impress the whole family by rowing us around for half an hour on the lake whilst we sat back and watched swans, ducks and enormous fish frolic in the water. He ended the half hour with tired arms and blisters but did ‘almost’ manage to topple me off my pedestal for amazing parents after my ice-skating success over Christmas!!
Back on dry land it was a cooling ice-cream for all before it was time to head out of the gardens and back to the station, this time Versailles-Rive-Gauche. With perfect timing we were able to hop straight on board (after thoroughly checking it was the right train!) and we were on our way back to Paris. Yesterday we had purchased the kids a small padlock so made our way back to the Pont des Arts to secure a little piece of us in Paris. We were careful to take photos of the exact location of our lock and hope one day for one or all of us to return and retrieve it (assuming it has a: not rusted over or b: we don’t lose the keys!).
After a stroll along the river bank, we made the rather long, hot walk (it was actually 29 degrees!) to the gardens of the Palace de Luxembourg where we recharged our batteries with a quiet drink beneath the chestnut trees – with 1000s of our closest Parisian friends! The gardens themselves offer a 25-hectare green parterre of gravel and lawn populated with statues, and provide large basins of water where children sail model boats. The palace itself was built for Marie de Medicis, the mother of King Louis XIII. It was completed in 1631 but the Queen mother was forced from court shortly after following the “Day of the Dupes” in November that year. (The day on which the enemies of Cardinal Richelieu mistakenly believed that they had succeeded in persuading Louis XIII to dismiss Richelieu from power. The queen mother demanded the cardinal's dismissal, declaring that the king had to choose between him and her. Quite obviously she didn’t get her wish). The property has since had many occupants and played various roles from a museum in 1750 – the forerunner of the Louvre – to a prison during the Revolution. It was also the first residence of Napoleon Bonaparte and was the headquarters of the Luftwaffe in France during the German occupation.
Today the garden’s offered a chance to cool down and also pay 0.40 Euro for the luxury of using dirty toilets with no paper! We parted from David and Paula at this point and took a wander around the gardens spending time watching the sail model boats being pushed around in the water of the Grand Basin. The garden’s are obviously a very popular spot but boy were they also dry and dusty.
We strolled back to the hotel for a clean up and a quick rest before it was time for dinner. We were all a bit tired by this point so chose a simple meal of kebabs at Restaurante Mediteranne. It was then promptly off to bed for the kids whilst we wound down over a nice bottle of red.
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