A long time ago, or not so long ago, I was in my high school French class. We opened our books and purused the pages describing Versailles, the palace of the French Monarchs. A short while later I was in my European History class. We opened our books and learned about the French Monarchs who lived in Versailles. A few years later, I was a Freshman in college. In my Seeing History Through Clothes class, we learned about the French court that lived at Versailles. After all of this, I wanted to go to Versailles; it was going to happen as soon as I could get myself to France.
Here I am, in Paris, France, and I went to Versailles today.
Having heard so much about it, I knew there would be an abundance of gold embelishment. I expected the superfluous show of wealth, and the flambouyant wallpaper did not come as a surprise. Believe it or not, I was stunned by how small it was.
It really is a ginormous estate. The gardens seem to stretch for miles, and it took us three hours to walk through the visitable part of the castle, but I did not sense a feeling of hugeness. I think I had wanted to walk into a grand ballroom that utterly glistened with the gold embelishments covering the walls. A sparkling chandelier would illuminate the room, and darling cherubim would play with roses on the ceiling. Something like the ballroom in Beauty and the Beast, when Bell dances with the Beast in her lovely yellow dress.
We did not go into such a room in Versailles.
The Hall of Mirros came close; a plethora of chandeliers sparkled just above my head and sculpture after gold sculpture lined the walkway. Mirrors lined the left wall, reflecting from the windows on the right. All together, a dazzling spectacle! Yet the grandness I had expected was not quite there.
If there is anything Versailles had enough of, it is paintings. Thousands of paintings. Whole hallways, as long as a football field, held paintings bigger than my bedroom! And every single one of them held the final scenen in a dramatic battle, suspended at that moment forever. It was a tall, grand room, but it still lacked the playful flavor I had hoped for.
Towards the end of our tour we went into the Apartments of the Ladies of the Court, most specifically, Marie Antoinette's rooms. All of these were done much more spimply, in lighter colors and less somber patterns than the other rooms. Should I have lived in the Court of Versailles, those are the rooms I would have liked to stay in. Many of the other rooms would have seemed oppressive after a while.
Melissa and I ended our visit in the most over priced gift shop I had been in yet. The rest of the group had skipped the Chateau and only visisted the gardens. From what I am told, they are utterly amazing. Beautiful fountains leap and splash in time with the music and carefully crafted walkways stretch on for miles. From what I could see, it looked like a very tame garden. I prefer something a little more natural, a little more wild even, than gravel and meticulously trimmed bushes. Even so, should I go to Versailles again, I think I will skip the castle and only explore the gardens, just so I can see them both.
Upon returning to the FIAP, after a very long train ride, I worked on my cahier. It really is a fun project, but I am starting to hate it because it takes up so much of my time! Fortunately it is due on Tuesday, so I'll have to be finished soon!
Tomorrow we are going to Hillsong Paris. I am so excited to be at church again! It is supposed to be a bilingual service and I look forward to seeing how that works!
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