Europe Trip 2003

Paris - Versailles

Just outside of Paris is the palace of Versailles where French royalty from Louis XIV-XVI spent their time. The palace is absolutely huge, but we found it somewhat uninspiring. After the royalty were removed during the French Revolution, all the rooms were stripped of their lavish furnishings. As a result the inside is not as impressive today as it must have been at one time. The curators have used fake representations of what it used to look like. For example, wood painted to look sort of like marble replaces walls that were once, well, marble. Regardless, the building itself is still very impressive.

Behind the palace are the more impressive gardens with their fountains. Beyond the gardens is the one mile long Grand Canal where we stopped for a picnic of sandwiches and crepes. On our walk back to the palace we stopped for glace, or ice cream, from a street vendor.

Palace of Versailles (count the Davids)

Chapel in Versailles - this organ is one of the few pieces that was not stripped from the palace after the Revolution

Hall of Mirrors

Gardens of Versailles

Relaxing near the Grand Canal

The Palace of Versailles as seen from the Grand Canal

Enjoying a glace de fraise

Paris - Museums Europe Trip Annecy
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April 19, 2003