France Trip: May 25 Versailles Amongst the Hoards

Versailles is one of the "country retreats" established by the Loiuses to get away from the stress and strain of despotic rule. Louis XIV was a major control freak who reigned for 72 years. His son never made it to the throne and his grandson, Louis XV, was so pathetic that he let the French Revolution happen under his nose while he was chasing Marie Antoinette around her three (mostly pink marble - not making this up) "country" homes. After the Louvre, these shacks are a bit of a let down despite massive amounts of gold sprinkled around.

I know this looks exactly like the Louvre but it really is Versailles.

We finally got to take some inside shots. Here is the Hall of Mirrors, not where they signed the Treaty of Versailles.

This room is empty because it was corded off. This is where the Treaty of Versailles was signed. Not the Hall of Mirrors? Go figure.

One of the allegorical images by Charles LeBrun, all of which basically say, "We French rulers are better than the gods".

We took this picture for Ruth Klein because she likes malachite. There were approximately 4 tons of the stuff in this room.

We paid for and didn't get the Fountain Show. After trudging down to Marie Antoinette land and back, in time for the last half of the 3:30 to 5 pm show, we were told it went on 2-4 pm, probably the only time in history the French rushed anything.