Saturday stroll in Versailles

Again, I am out of order. Below you can see me snapping a picture of myself in the Hall of Mirrors. At the end of this long hallway the King would sit upon his thrown. To visit the King you would walk the length of the hall by yourself. Even royalty from other countries were required to do this. A little reminder as to whom THE king of Europe was.

On Saturday we went to Versailles. This was every kings envy and aspiration also Europe's political hub for 100 years, until the French Revolution of 1789.

King Louis the XIV or "Sun King" changed this hunting lodge into an elaborate palace and moved from the Louvre Palace in Paris. He moved all of the nobilities here to keep a tight reign on them. Louis the XIV was very personable, handsome approachable King, which might explain why France was the cultural capital of that time. King Louis XIV passed and so did his charisma.

His grandson Louis XV kept to his grandfathers traditions, but struggled to maintain the country's strength. After the death of Louis the XV, Louis the XVI took over. He was shy and kept to himself. He married Maire Antoinette of Vienna Austria and together they enjoyed their beautiful gardens and palace as the commoners struggled for a meager meal. Which set the stage for the French Revolution.

A beautiful window in the palace

The view from the Sun King's bedroom

A window shutter inside of the palace

The back of the palace

This view was taken from behind the palace. In the distance you can see a manmade cross shaped lake . Here nobility would have boat parties.

Leah, Jody, Marianne and Christina resting in Marie-Antoinette's gardens.

This was Marie-Antoinette little getaway Hamlet Palace about a 10 minute walk from the main Versailles Palace. Here she was able to escape the troubles that were beginning to swirl all around her politically. Here she cared for her animals and tended her gardens. She also had another palace called Petit Trianon (not pictured) in which she could escape the reality of the French Revolution.

The Hamlet Palace was my favorite. It seemed nearly untouched and you could really imagine Marie-Antoinette escaping to these beautiful cottages.

After Versaille we went to the Arc de Triompe. Napoleon had this commissioned to celebrate his victory in the battle of Austerlitz, the largest triumph arch.

A view of a very famous street. This is THE street to go and browse the upscale shops. I think it's the Champs Ellysees. During our trip I massacred the French Language and I can't be certain this is the correct name of this street.

I did hike up the 284 steps

Under the arch is the French tomb of the unknown soldier. Every day the at 6:30 the fire is lit and flowers placed to remember those unknown soldiers of WWI.