Thursday, May 26, 2011

Can't I be a Queen?!

I finally got to really relax today and catch up on some sleep. This trip has been amazing so far but it has taken a toll....I did not want to walk around looking like a complete ZOMBIE. today, so I just spent some time relaxing on the couch. Listening to Glee and watching old episodes of some awesome shows was EXACTLY I needed. Yesterday was amazing!!!! I got to see the Chateau Versailles. It has been something I have been wanting to visit since I started learning French history when I was little and when I saw the movie "Marie Antoinette" with Kirsten Dunst. I mean come on, the Castle is AMAZING! So a little background on the Chateau---I was talking to my friend from back home yesterday and she had NEVER heard about the Chateau or what it even was. The Chateau was planned and started by Louis XIV--he was known as the Sun King. He was very dedicated to the arts and made sure that his castle would be very intricate. Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette lived in Chateau prior and during the French Revolution almost till their execution. When Marie Antoinette came to Versailles, she decided to add her own little touch to it....she was the ONLY Queen to add anything to the castle. She had her own property within the whole area of Versailles-----which the whole property of Versailles, including Marie Antoinette's domain is 7,800 hectares...just a note: one hectare is equal to 100 acres (aka: ITS ENORMOUS).  Anyways, enough with the facts and history, and onto the photos:
Part of the outside of the gate at Versailles

This building which is part of the chateau says "All the glories of France." Which makes sense because the Chateau has a lot of history, and the architecture itself shows the beauty and art of France.

The outside gate....the gate and fence are plated with gold

Me in front of this awesome gate....who wouldn't want this in front of their house?! haha

There were sooooo many amazing things to see at Versailles. The current exhibition is the Royal thrones, so throughout the Chateau, there are the thrones which belonged to many of the nobles and the royalty. The most interesting and amazing things, to me, to see were the king's room, the queen's room, the hall of mirrors, and Marie Antoinette's village.

Napoleon's Throne

The king's room....amazing!

the queen's room...its beautiful.....a little stiff, but still...who wouldn't want a room that large?

Hall of Mirrors....sooo beautiful. So much light

Entrance into the Hall of Mirrors

Me right before we got to Marie Antoinette's village

bridge to the village....there were like 6 houses that each had different tasks....like one was for milking, the other was to make wine, etc.

It was such a beautiful day and we we got to Versailles at 10:30am and didn't get back till about 6:30pm----my feet did kill me by the end of the day. There were so many people there yesterday, at least a thousand people easily.....though, Paris is quite large. We were at the Chateau for like 5 hours....and then the rest was travel time...thankfully my mom and I ate at this super cute cafĂ© right down the street from the Chateau. It was interesting because there were these two American girls at the table next to us--they were 18 or 19--and they were acting like the typical teenage americans entering a country where the drinking age is only 18...not 21 like it is in the USA. They were saying things like, "OHHHHHHH I think I am going to get a beer! or a glass of wine!" They also had difficulties ordering and the waiter was looking at them like they were stupid----which wasn't very kid for the waiter to do BUT it was entertaining to say the least.

Tomorrow, I am not really sure what I am doing....but sadly it is supposed to rain. I will update soon! probably around Sunday because thats when I move into my apartment!!!! YEAY!!!

No comments:

Post a Comment