Sighing at Versailles

We're headed to Versailles today, and have eaten a hearty breakfast, as the kings and queens would have in the best of times.   When told of our forthcoming trip, granddaughter Ophelia, a 5-year-old lover of all things royal, asked if we would see any fancy people in France.  We said we'd probably see some castles, but all of the fancy people had their heads cut off long ago.  She was shocked and disappointed, although she's not opposed to a little violence in her stories.  I wonder what her friends in kindergarten will think when she adds this detail to one of her "once upon a time" stories.

The train from Paris out to Versailles takes only about 35 minutes, but makes me think about the long, long march of the housewives of Paris out to the palace before the revolution.  They were marching to complain about the price of bread, a staple of the french diet - now and then.  This was the beginning of the end for the naive king and queen.

The palace is a 15-minute walk from the train station, and quite impressive on approach.  Our Museum Pass got us in, with a free audio guide, to the palace and some of the rooms of the royal apartments.  The place was full of visitors and tour groups, so it was slow going through the rooms on display.  The Hall of Mirrors is big enough that the crowds weren't a problem, and is one of the most spectacular areas in the palace.  There was a temporary exhibit in the palace when we were there, which seemed a little out of place. 

Tim and Rick approaching the palace

The Hall of Mirrors

Art from the temporary exhibit changes the feel of the great hall full of battle scenes

The gardens are beautiful, and free except on weekends when the fountains are turned on.  The grounds are immense, so we took the shuttle out as far as we could to see Marie Antoinette's hamlet.  It's about a mile from the main palace.  The little cluster of thatched-roof cottages was her refuge from the crowds at the palace, and a place where she could pretend she was just a plain country girl.  Of course the sheep were perfumed, and many servants made sure everything was perfect for the queen and her children.  Even though the sheep aren't perfumed today, it was our favorite part of Versailles.

l'Orangerie where Louis XIV proved that he could control nature by growing fruit out of season.  In reality all of the trees were put into greenhouses each night. 

Some of the cute buildings in Marie Antoinette's hamlet

We had lunch at one of the cafes on the Grand Canal, and marveled at the miles of trim hedges and manicured gardens.

We hopped the train back into Paris early enough for Chef Rick to start preparing a wonderful dinner of duck breast with blueberry sauce.  It was a contender for best meal of the trip so far.  Pastries from the local bakery finished the meal.  We felt as close to kings and queens as we possibly could while still keeping our heads.

Breast of duck with blueberry sauce