Paris day 3 Palace of Versaille

The weather left a little to be desired, but no matter the weather, the Palace at Versaille never fails to shine!

    Versailles was the residence of the king and the seat of France's government for a hundred years.  Louis XIV (r. 1643-1715), moved out of the Louvre in Paris, the previous royal residence and built an elaborate palace in the forests and swamps of Versailles, 10 miles west. 
    Louis XIV was creating the first modern, centralized state.  At Versailles he consiolidated Paris' scattered ministries so that he could personally control policy.  More importantly, he invited France's nobles to Versailles in order to control them.  Living a life of almost enforced idleness, the "domesticated" aristocracy couldn't interfere with the way Louis ran things.  With 18 million people united under one king, a booming econonmy, and a powerful military, France was Europe's number-one power. 
     Around 1700, Versailles was the cultural heartbeat of Europe, and French culture was at its zenith.  Throughout Europe, when you said "the king," you were referring to the French king-Louis XIV.  Every king wanted a place like Versailles.  Everyone learned French.  French taste in clothes, hairstyles, table manners, theater, music, art, and kissing spread across the Continent.  That cultural dominance continued, to some extent, right up to the 20th centry. 

 Louis XIV:
    At the Center of all this was Europe's greatest king.  He was a true Renaissance man, a century after the Renaissance: athletic, good-looking, a musician, dancer, horse-man, statesman, art-lover, lover.  For all his grandeur, he was one of history's most polite and approachable kings, a good listener who could put even commoners at ease in his presence. 
    Louis XIV called himself the Sun King because he gave life and warmth to all he touched.  He was also thought of as Apollo, the Greek god of the sun.  Versailles became the personal temple of this god on earth, decorated with statues and symbols of Apollo, the sun and Louis XIV himself.  The classical themes throughout underlined the divine right of France's kings and queens to rule without limit.  Loius XIV was a hands-on king who personally ran affairs of state.  All decisions were made by him, Nobles, who in other countries were the center of power, became virtual slaves depedent on Louis XIV's generosity.  For 70 years he was the perfect embodiment of the absolute monarch.  He summed it up best himself with his famous rhyme- "L'etat, c'est moi!"  (lay-tah say-mwah):  "The state, that's me!"

Other Louis Kings of importance:
   Three kings lived in Versailles during its century of glory.  Louis XIV built it and established French dominance.  Louis XV, his great-grandson (Louis XIV reigned for 72 years), carried on the tradition and policies, but without the Sun King's flair.  During Louis XV's reign (1715-1774), France's power abroad was weakening and there were rumblings of rebellion from within. 
    France's monarchy was crumbling, and the time was ripe for a strong leader to re-establish the old feudal order.  They didn't get one.  Instead, they got Louis XVI (r. 1774-1792), a shy, meek bookworm, kind of guy.  Louis the XVI married a sweet girl from the Austrian Royal Family, Marie-Antoinette, and together they retreated into the idyllic gardens of Versailles while Revolutionary fires smoldered. 

(Rick Steves- France 2011, pg. 222-223)

A bust of Marie-Antoinette

With the palace behind you looking out on the Palace Gardens, it seems as though the Gardens go on forever.  (And we decided to test that theory by walking forever through them).  Our legs were screaming for relief by the time we reached the Trianon Palaces and Domaine de Marie-Antoinette. 

We passed several fountains and statues, ran through columns of manicured shrubs, past side areas filled with leafy trees currently turning into fall splendid colors, saw flowers, more water in long narrow pools that reminded us of "The Mall" in Washington D.C. to finally reach the Trianon Palaces and Marie Antoinette's playground. 

Cole's failure to LAUNCH jump! 

We wrestled each other, threw leaves, and laughed a lot. 

Oh hooray!  I don't care what else I see....but a bench that deserves a photo!

The Trianon Palace became an escape from the pressure of kingship.  Every bit as beautiful as Versailles, just a lot smaller.  Many of the kings lived here most of the days/ nights of the week to get away. 

Nestled even further and deeper into the Gardens was a little area that Marie-Antoinette had built.  She was a quiet, farm girl from Austria who had a hard time fitting into the Palace lifestyle.  So she tried to recreate a quiet farm, quaint life of a performing theatre for her and her girlfriends, gardens and a Temple of Love to hang out by. 

The Temple of Love.....Carter insisted on a photo.....do you have something to tell us??

After having very tired feet, we road a very slow tram back to the Palace and then walked to eat at a French restaraunt close to Versaille.  The verdict?  Not sure we love French food.  Exhausted beyond belief we headed back to our Paris apartment on the RER subway and fell into beds.