My Palace in the Country

The line for the Chateau de Versailles snaked up and down the huge front courtyard.  Somehow it all stayed coherent -- there was definition to the line itself, although I have to believe that the employees do watch over it.  So, there we were, baking in the hot sun, no shade, and jet-lagged to boot.

Frankly, the possibility for whiny teenagers and a whiny spouse was frightening.  To their credit, neither Carol nor Maddy/Torie complained about the wait.  The snaking line had the benefit of moving, so for the 55 minutes it took us, at least we weren't just standing in one place.

We decided not to do any sort of audioguide (which is generally interesting), mostly because we were too tired to stand in another line to rent it, and then we did not want to spend the time necessary to listen. 

Okay, so it wasn't the most enlightened tour of a humungous palace we've ever done.  But, given the lack of sleep no one had the patience (well, maybe me, but I'm pretty much a saint, you know) to spend too much time learning.  Instead we were happy just to wander from room to room, Americans in Versailles, get pushed by Asian tour groups (personal space is a good thing, people!) and marveling at the opulence of it all.  Frankly, it's kind of revolting!  (Sorry, both puns are intentional in that sentence!).

The Hall of Mirrors was the most interesting, but the throne room, the King's Bedroom, the Royal Chapel, the Queen's Bedroom, and, actually most rooms were quite interesting to see -- it was just 80% of the Virginia Bolgers and two thousand (or more?) of our closest friends (well, physically closest people, anyhow).

By the way, I know this is old news.  I know I marvel every time at the amount of ornate work that went into the palaces, cathedrals, and churches of Europe.  Some day we will get to Asia -- but generally we don't have the kind of time such a trip requires.

I gave Louis XIV credit -- he expanded Versailles and made it his base of operations so he could control all functions of government, control the nobles, and run the country himself.  Not exactly the best form of government, but at least he knew the best way to keep control, not be a moron, and keep the country moving in the right direction.  From today's times, it's easy to criticize that set-up, but the guy knew what he was doing to keep control.

After we stumbled out of the palace, we headed back to the main drag.  The handful of water sellers who were there earlier were gone.  We stopped at an outdoor café near the train station and way overpaid for really good ice cream. 

Everyone slept at times on the train ride back -- Maddy and Carol the whole way, while Torie and I took turns dozing off in a sun & jet-lagged induced stupor.  I woke everyone up upon arrival back at Invalides, and we caught the free bus back to the Notre Dame area.  From there, it was just a short walk back to the hotel.

We showered off the airplane and stand in line in the sun grime we had accumulated.  Thank God France has upgraded its showers since 1984!