Château de Versailles

I had been to Versailles twice before: the first time as an excited 18 year old on my first major overseas trip with the Choir/Orchestra Tour. We went on a freezing cold, grey day and I remember being totally awestruck by the Grand Apartments, the paintings and the opulence. I also remember shelling out big bucks for a guidebook and a pack of postcards... no idea what ever happened to them!


And again last year with the Lovedays: we had a lovely walk through the palace and then zoomed around the gardens on a golf buggy with Holly a mad-woman at the wheel, but we were pressed for time and didn't get to spend as long as we all would have liked exploring which resulted in us having to run back to the train station, tripping over the cobblestones with Coco giggling away like mad at us, and all of us just dissolving into laughter making it impossible to run.


So this time round we allowed ourselves the whole day with pre-purchased tickets booked online to avoid queuing (that's tip #2!) I am the Tour Guide Extraordinaire after-all!

HOT PARIS TRAVEL TIP #3:
You can pre-purchase tickets for the Eiffel Tower.
Prevents you from standing in one long mutha f-ing queue!

We explored the palace along with huge, annoying groups on guided tours with earpieces which clearly take away what semblance of awareness they have of the space and people around them. Just because you are listening to that annoying lady barking Italian at you through your earpiece DOESN'T make you blind so STOP WALKING INTO ME. I hate big tour groups. And also (while on a mini rant) what is with people viewing an entire palace/monument/art gallery through the little LCD screen on the back of their video camera/digital camera??!?
Put the camera DOWN dickhead and take a look around.
* rant over*


Anyway - the highlight for me was taking the "Petit Train" up to the Grand Trianon and the Petit Trianon which is inextricably linked to Marie Antionette. Louis XVI presented it to his queen and she ordered considerable modifications, impressing upon it her personal tastes and style. The gardens, theatre and the "Hamlet" are all so beautiful and despite being pillaged during the Revolution, it has all been carefully restored and is, in my humble opinion, just as interesting as the palace itself.


History lingers at Versailles.
Yes, it's a giant, well-managed, money spinning tourist attraction, complete with it's own Angelina's Tea Room, Gift shops galore and boats, bikes, golf carts etc to hire.

But it's also unlike anywhere else on earth and an incredible symbol of the Ancien Régime.

Le temple de l'Amour in the Domaine of Marie Antionette

Petit Trianon and gardens

Le temple de l'Amour

Empty chairs at empty tables

If you haven't been to Versailles. Put it on your Bucket List and get onto it.

And when in France, head down south and visit me!
**Ulterior motive alert**

xxx