We cannot leave Paris without visiting Versailles

Versailles Excursion  9/10 July 2011
 
 

Meeting outside the RER near the Flame of the Statue of Liberty (now a monument to Lady Diana), everyone was dressed for a warm, summer day. Fortunately they would not be disappointed.

Arriving at Versailles, we met up with Gerald. The whole grounds were dotted with impressive, iron statues by Jean-Jacques Aillagon tracing the pure geometry of the Neo-Classical monument.
 We walked past hundreds of tourists waiting in serpentine lines to enter a special door for groups.
Comfortably sitting in an elegant salon while our guide brought radio headsets.

She had 5 inch long keysthat unlocked the doors of Louis XV’s private apartments.

Each room was covered with gold guilt and fine silk tapestries.  The fine furnishings and porcelain were really something to admire. 

Then we went down the famous ‘Hall of Mirrors’

 

Feeling right at home and on to the main rooms.

Louis XIV’s private chapel was particularly stunning as the sun just hit the triangular centerpiece above the high alter.
All that rich luxury made everyone hungry. So, we went out into the formal gardens to have our picnic. Sitting on the steps, we had a view overlooking the whole park. Music composed by Jean-Baptist Lully, Louis XIV’s close friend, filled the air.
  Sunday’s group decided that a short siesta was in order
  before heading out to cover 800 hectares of gardens (well at least the main drag)
stopping to see the special fountains exhibition which are only turned on a rare occasions.
  One of the girls stepped in to orchestrate the movements of the water sprays. She did a great job.
One spectacular display of waterworks lasted 10 minutes with various patterns following the music perfectly.
Hidden behind a high hedge was a round Italian colonnade in rose marble.
  Not till the very end of our promenade did the students set eyes on the mysterious statue of a Native American commissioned by Louis XIV to symbolize his Louisiana. It even a Mississippi alligator at its feet.
 The day ended with a spectacular display at the Neptune fountain.
 
Tired and having run though all the batteries for the cameras, everyone finally abandoned taking each others’ photos in front of the chateau and wandered back to the RER station where all the ticket turnstiles had broken and we had to squeeze through the crowd to access the platform. In just a half-hour we were back in Paris.