Versailles: Seat of the Ancient Monarchy.

Will, Yohan, Gawelle and me took the train out of Paris to Versailles today!!!
I was thrilled cos, it is the first time I'm going to see a castle and its interiors.
Kekeke.

-The regional train map of Paris-

I think, among so many places I went, Singapore has the easiest to comprehen train map.

-Its platform-


-Double-storey trains-


Sometimes, I wonder whether Singapore's media is making a big hoo-haa on the civicminded-ness of Singaporeans on public property and cleanliness, when one of the world claimed first class civilisation do things like this...

-Litter stuffed beneath the ventilators of the train-



*************************

We went to have lunch before proceeding to the castle.
And, to illustrate the standard of living in France, here is a little evidence...

-A coffee cup not even as tall as my middle finger-

Gawelle got this from the shop I got my tuna and egg sandwich, (which I got for €3.90), and she paid €1.50 for this teeny weeny cup of coffee...
To think my can of Lipton peach tea cost €1.80.
On the other hand, Will and Yohan spent €6.00 each to get their McDonald's set meal.
But errrr... their packaging looks nice.
Hahaha.
(Note: 1€ = SGD2.00 approximately)


*************************

-The many boulders leading to the castle-

I was really walking step-by-step on these, it was uneven, rough... urghhh... and absolutely makes me wonder how women then walk on such pathways.

-The Gate to the Castle-


-One of the wings to the Castle-

And, I was lucky...
There was an American tourist guide blar-blar-ing away for me to catch some of its history, apart from all the french gibberish which I don't understand.
Hahaha!!!

*************************

Although Louis XIII had a hunting-lodge and garden built there in the 1630s, Louis XIV was mainly responsible for the creation of Versailles.
Not too close to Paris, where insurgency was a constant threat, but not too far away.
The estate was modelled according to the Sun King's wishes, reflected his perception of power.

The castle, the décor of its interiors took more than 50 years to complete.
And, not counting the number of years the later Kings took for further renovations.


*************************

-The Royal Chapel-

Completed in 1710.
Only 5 years before the death of Louis XIV.
The King will attend prayers every morning, which was considered an important event in the daily life of the Court.
Weddings of the children to the Kings took place in this very chapel till the end of the 18th century too.

-Hercules Drawing Room-

This room was being used as the Royal Chapel before the present chapel was being completed in 1710.
Notice its fire place uses logs!!! L.O.G.S. for burning and not dried branches.
Just imagine how big their fire place is... (But I wonder why would they need such a big one when they were so small in the past??? Napoleon was only 1.50metres... Hmmm...)

-The Mercury Drawing Room-

One of the bed chambers in the castle.

-The view of the whole garden from its window-


-The Hall of Mirrors-

This was built on the site of terrace between the apartments of the King and Queen.
The Hall of Mirrors which receives light from the 17 windows overlooking the gardens, reflected in 17 mirrored arcades, also announced the birth of French industry: glass production.

-Its close up view-


-Some beautiful drawings on the ceiling-



There were so many paintings... on every ceiling and every wall.
Every piece of them depicting a particular event, telling every bit of history.
And, I was told, they were arranged in a particular sequence...

-Convocation of Napoleon I and his queen-


-The King giving out the eagle emblem to his army-


-Queen Marie~Antoinette (wife of Louis XVI) & her children-

She was an Austrian, who was later beheaded together with Louis XVI during the French Revolution.
In fact, many of the Kings married women of the royal family from other European countries to strengthen ties betweeen the royalty and to expand their power.
Louis XIV, for example, married a Spanish princess.

-Wall painting on the peasants-



*************************

Out of the castle to the huge imperial garden of the royals...


-Us mimicking the monument-


-The Fountain of Latona-

Inspired by Ovid's Metamorphosis, the Fountain of Latona illustrates the legend of the mother of Apollo and Diana protecting her children from the insults of the Lycian peasants, and imploring Jupiter to avenge her.

The central marble group depicting Latona and her children, this was surrounded by 6 frogs arrange outside the fountain on a grassy platform. The goddess then faced the château. But it was modified later which made the Latona group looks towards the Grand Canal.

*************************

However great an empire is, there is always its downfall.
A tour around the castle and walking on its grounds sets you to think that life of a royalty may be glamorous but it is just too lonely.



*************************

-Daylight Robbery Price for Toilet Entrance-

The same price put up on some wall back in old SIngapore will only send people screaming #@$$#!!!!! and walk off in a huff.
Hahaha. (My own imaginative enactment at that moment)

There was a freaking long queue up out of the toilet even for this freaking price though.


signing off,
It-was-a-great-day-serene