The House of the Sun King

The next morning, after a bit of miscommunication that sent B in one direction and the girls and me in another, we finally made it to our meeting spot for our day tour of Versailles.  It is another must-see while in Paris, but somehow we had skipped it all of the previous times we had been, and it was high on my list of things to do.  But the grounds of the Château are so overwhelming that walking them on foot is a monumental task and one that would take ALL day (if not more) and it just wouldn't be as much fun for the kids.  Instead, I booked us on a biking tour!

We grabbed a train to the end of the line and walked a short way to the bike storage to pick out one that was just right for each of us. We set off to the town market to pick up our picnic lunch of a baguette (soooo fresh), some cheese, sliced meats, and a lot of water.  There was a heatwave on after all.

We also found fresh crepes in the market square.

All fueled up and ready for some adventure, we braved the streets of Versailles, dodging cars that seemed to want to run us over and trying not to run over other tourists on the bike paths.  And then suddenly we were in the gardens, and the stress levels subsided immediately.  Wide-open roads loomed before us, and the kids (we had 3 more on tour with us, and they were just our girl's ages) could roam free.  

Our first stop was the building of the Grand Trianon.  Commissioned by Louis XIV (the Sun King) as a familial retreat, he preferred living there to the grand palace.  It was a gorgeous building, but I didn't stop to get many pictures as it reminded me of so many other marble palaces from that age.  But I did take a few of our next stop, the gardens behind the Grand Trianon and next to the Petit Trianon.  This spot is known as The Queens Hamlet and has a pretty compelling and bizarre story. 

Marie Antoinette had this fairytale village built so that she could pretend she was in a small village in the French countryside.  The "townspeople" were all servants, and when she was in residence, they all had to make-believe that they were residents of this small village.  There was a farm where there were actual crops and animals that needed tending, and there were shops and roadside stands that other servants would shop at.  Much of the village was left behind and decay during the Revolution, but it has since been restored to its former state, and now the farm is a place of learning for schoolchildren.

We stopped to feed and pet some of the farm animals...

And we took some time to smell the roses (literally).

Right next door, we toured the Petit Trianon which was commissioned by Louis XV for his mistress, Madame de Pompadour.  At this point, we did a bit of biking around the gorgeous gardens and finally stopped along the grand canal for some lunch.

A bit more bike riding through the estate before braving the streets and dropping our bikes back at their shed...

Back on foot, it was time to head into the Château and get a good look around.  After all, this Palace is one of the most famous in the World, is a UNESCO World Heritage site and just all-around impressive in its stature and history.  What started as Louis the XIII's hunting lodge is now 2,300 rooms spread over 63,154 m2!  There is more history in this building, than I can go into here, but if you want to learn more, it's just a quick Google search, and you will have reading for days.  

First, an obligatory handstand in front of the gates.

The famous Hall of Mirrors.  There are 17 arches filled with 357 mirrors (21 in each arc) that overlook 17 arched windows looking out into the gardens of Versailles.  But that is not the most interesting fact about this room.  The most fascinating thing is that before this room was installed no one in France knew how to make a mirror (and most had never seen one).  To have this room constructed, the King kidnapped several mirror makers from Venice (where all of the master makers were) and had them complete this room for him.

Having walked the length of the palace and having biked much of the gardens, we were ready to call it a day.  We stopped quickly outside the grounds to fill up our water bottles (and our mouths) and hopped the next train back to Paris. 

Still a bit jet-lagged, we grabbed an early dinner and fell into bed at a reasonable hour.  Having no concrete plans for the next morning meant we could get up at our leisure and take the day as it came!