Grüße aus...Versaille

Our second day in Paris, Susan and Andrew climbed up to the top of Notre Dame, while I took a train to the Paris suburb of Versaille to visit the 17th century estate of Versaille!



I didn't know much about Versaille before going there other than it was big and beautiful and the home of French royalty. I learned that it was very big, VERY beautiful, and the home of French royalty, aristocracy and anyone that had influence with the king.



The palace of Versaille was originally built as a hunting lodge for King Louis XIII with the Louvre in the heart of Paris as his primary residence. Then Louis XIV decided to make the "lodge" his primary residence to get away from Paris then enlarged the palace, inviting all French aristocracy to reside there as well. It was his way of keeping an eye on his court!







But there were other parts of the estate beside the palace. It seems that the king needed yet another "get-away" cottage from his "get-away" lodge and so Louis XIV built the Grand Trianon.





But Louis XV felt like he needed yet another retreat from his retreat so he built the Petit Trianon. This was eventually given to Marie-Antoinette as her personal residence. She created a beautiful English garden (it's natural beauty is very different from the pristine organization of the other French gardens in the estate) and also a rustic hamlet which is absolutely charming!







I loved everything about Versaille...every room was stunning, the Hall of Mirrors was as impressive as it was designed to be, the gardens were inspiring, and Marie Antoinette's estate (the Petit Trianon and the hamlet) were completely charming. But I could certainly see why the French Revolution occurred! Versialle was like this other-worldly pocket of wealth and beauty and charm. Those living at Versaille didn't leave it much. Which meant it must have been a kind of gilded prison for them, too. Which might have been the reason for building one retreat after another, each one smaller and relatively simpler than the last, culminating in Marie-Antoinette's country hamlet. The hamlet is very romantic view of the simple life showing that they must have had a very warped view of the realities of the common Frenchman.

But I wonder what they would think if they knew that today, us commoners can get a glimpse into their gilded lives and wander through their gardens and bedrooms for the mere price of a modest admission fee!

You'll want to see all my beautiful photos of Versailles found here.

Parisian Museums

When my sister and her husband were here to visit, we spent a couple of days in Paris. The really nice thing about going to Paris with Susan is that she speaks French very well. This meant that I could leave her and Andrew to wander Paris on their own and I could get a few more of the Must-See items checked off my Paris list!

So, while Susan and Andrew went off to eat lots of French food and fall in love with the Eiffel Tower, I visited a couple of amazing museums and a gorgeous chapel!

Cluny



The ancient Romans had three large bath houses in what is now Paris...the only one that has survived lies mostly ruined on the grounds of the Cluny. The Cluny was built at the end of the Middle Ages as a little castle in what was then the outskirts of Paris. It was eventually turned into a hotel and then a museum dedicated to medieval art and to show off the ancient Roman baths.



I loved all the wonderful tapestries (especially the absolutely stunning Unicorn series representing the five sense) and medieval stonework and the tiny vaulted chapel.



Sainte-Chapelle



Sainte-Chapelle is a chapel, a very large chapel, built by King Saint-Louis IX between 1242-1248 to house a piece of the crown of thorns he purchased while on a crusade in Jerusalem. The chapel is known as having some of the most magnificent stained-glass windows in the world. And they lived up to their reputation! Absolutely magnificent!!





L'Orangerie



L'Orangerie is a museum dedicated to early modern art. It isn't very big but it's collection of Picassos and Cezannes and other wonderful artists was choice! It's highlight is Monet's last masterwork: two galleries with panoramic Impressionistic waterlily paintings. The galleries create a wonderful sensation of stepping into the painting itself.





See a lot more photos of these Paris treasures here!