Today our class went to the Palace of Versailles, which was about a half hour trip out of Paris by train. Versailles became the official seat of government in 1687. It was created strictly for royalty and was essentially its own little city so that the monarchy could get away from the problems of Paris such as poverty. The furniture, gold, and elaborate ceilings were all an effort to show off the wealth of the king and queen. Today it is a look back to that time and to how lavish (and greedy) the royal family was; however, it also gives a peek into the history of France. When we walked towards the entrance, without even a sign, you could tell it was the palace. The golden gates and huge structure was undoubtedly fit for a king. Once we got through security, the first several rooms we entered held many, many portraits of various rulers and important political figures. The paintings looked quite similar and most likely idealized the people. Not any one piece in particular stuck out to me because they seemed so similar. The rooms were ridiculously furnished. So much gold and detail in every aspect of the rooms. The flowery wallpaper, the matching furniture to the bedding, and the painted ceilings. Everything was decorated and over-the-top. The large arched windows looked out of the gardens. There were marble columns, busts, and full statues of various important peoples. There was a whole hall of noted people sculpted in stone. There was a whole hall filled with victory paintings along with busts of generals. Many of the rooms had themes such as "The Coronation Room", "The Hercules Room", "The War Room", and "The Peace Room". The titles of which corresponded with the artwork found in the room. Everything was so elaborate- the complicated shapes, trompe l'oeil paintings, high domes, grand stairways, chandeliers, curved forms, twisted columns, symmetry, and artwork. I can't imagine how long it took to construct and put together everything- or the amount of people it took do all these things! My favorite room, which couldn't actually be entered, didn't have a label. Or if it did I couldn't see it because there were so many people gathered around it trying to take pictures. But it was pretty early on in the door. Two tall white doors, with gold detailing of flowers and lines led to the gigantic room. Inside were two, swelling columns that were accompanied by two rows of windows. On the bottom were higher arched windows, and the top shorter windows. In the back of the room, in the center, were what appear to be organ pipes that reached up towards the ceiling. These, along with an altarpiece (?) were gilded. Two angels held up a row of flowers while they floated in the air. Directly in the middle of the room was a huge circle which looked out onto the bottom floor. The white balcony was as elegant as the columns. The ceiling had a large oval painted with mythological scenes of gods, goddesses, and other fantastical creators that spilled into the dome that was built into the wall. This room seemed clean, bright, and elegant- while still being as grandiose as the rest of the building. I really enjoy the exhibits in museums where they have the themed rooms from history, so I did enjoy walking around a whole huge palace with room after room that reflected historical France.
After we finished walking around the rooms that we were allowed to wander in, Brittini asked if we could venture out to Marie Antoinette's palace which lays out in the garden of Versailles. Thinking it'd be nice to take a walk, and that I'd like to see the gardens, I agreed. I'm really a country girl, so I enjoyed taking a break from the city and just wandering in the quiet garden. There were so many trees and statues (though, it would have been much prettier in the summer!)- and I just really enjoyed being outside for a while. This changed when we were walking for two hours. Turns out, we went to the left side of the river- when we should have gone on the right. We had to walk all the way around the river, which is in the shape of a cross, to get to the palace. This was over a six mile walk. Part of the trail was blocked off- so we had to trudge through the mud, and my pants got filthy. It was fun for a while- we sang in the woods since no one was there, took pictures of the gorgeous swans that were swimming around the lake, and fed some stray kittens. Once we realized we were on the wrong size, our positive attitude sort of faded. Although, I think it was worth it. Her palace was quaint, quite feminem, and pretty. The pink pillars and little gate was fit for a lady. I quite enjoyed her tastes- and preferred it over the grand palace. She had her own garden and fountains- and I could just imagine her have her own parties, trysts, and friends over here. It was quite a ways (even if you take the fast route) away from the palace- so clearly she could live her own life away from the King.
On our way back to Paris we had some issues because Danielle's metro passes (just like in London) haven't been working. So far, all five of her tickets have magically become deactivated. I'm convinced she has something on her that's doing it. She thinks it's just coincidence. Either way, her ticket wouldn't work again and no one was at the gate to help- so we had to shimmy her in between us to get her on the train. Later, she had to crawl underneath one of the booths to get in. It's been funny, and interesting. Hopefully we settle her ticket situation soon, though. We're running out of creative ways to get her on a train.
After our group meeting, the three of us went on a river boat cruise down the Seine River since we were unable to take the one in London. It was sort of goofy because the boat went about a mile per hour and showed us essentially everything we had already seen. Furthermore, the music was awful and the pre-recorded English guide was corny and cheesy. For instance, at one point he was like "This is the bridge where Parisians undoubtedly fall in love" or "Hold your breath under this bridge and make a wish- I promise it'll come true!" I did learn some things however, I learned that the gargoyles on Notre Dame are actually sculpted gutters. We also got to see the oldest bridge in Paris- which had over 300indidividually scupted heads on the sides. We had a nice evening though, we sang to the goofy music and took pictures from the boat. We also got to see the Eiffel Tower sparkle again- which is always a pretty sight.
Question of the Day: Discuss your reaction to Versailles.
I was actually not a huge fan of Versailles. I was somewhat disappointed. Everyone talks about how gorgeous it is and how beauitful the Hall of Mirrors is; however, I didn't feel the same. I'm not sure if I had super high expectations or if I was just desensatized by all the pictures I had seen of it. There was just SO much decoration that it was too much. It was like having a brownie with a pound of chocolate frosting on it- it was just too much of a good thing. Furthermore, I was disappointed to find out that many of the famous paintings in it weren't real- such as David's "Coronation of Napoleon". The Hall of Mirrors was dark and drab and it was too full of people to even appreciate anything in it. The photographs of the Hall make it seem so bright and magical; but the mirrors were tarnished and dirty and it just seemed short and unimpressive compared to what I envisioned. I actually enjoyed Marie Antonette's palace better. It was quaint and you could see her personal touches on it much more. It was clear that it wasn't about showing off- but just living in comfort. The Grand Palace seemed more forced and over the top.
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