Bill&Theresa: Versailles – A Palace Fit for Kings (Part 1

Good morning, Versailles!

Theresa here! Bill is working, so I offered to write the blog…to which he said “But, you’ll just say ‘we visited Versailles – and post 3 pictures’”. So, I have to do my best to channel my inner Bill and be descriptive. Warning, though…I have knocked the number of photos down to about 90. Hope you enjoy the views!

Ahhh...the beauty of Versailles! And coffee.

We started our morning at the Waldorf Astoria, reading a bit of history about it. The hotel was opened in 1912, having been purpose built as a hotel adjacent to the Versailles Palace. The hotel has served as a British hospital in WWI, both Axis AND Allies War headquarters location for WW2, and hosted many influential people through the century it’s been around. We woke up to see that we could actually SEE Versailles from our window (getting really close to the window and looking to the right). We went downstairs for breakfast, and were seated in a quaint window seat that overlooked a park.

Enjoyed a classic French Omelette (me) and Eggs Benedict (Bill). I also had the best Croissant I’ve had in quite a bit!

The Waldorf Astoria

After breakfast, we cleaned up and headed to Versailles -- see pictures from our Walk.

A beautiful water feature...except under repair.

Cones?

The 17th Century Window Panes are amazing!

We had purchased a package that included a VR (Virtual Reality) event celebrating the 250^th Anniversary of the USA! You might wonder, why?? Apparently, Benjamin Franklin had visited the King of France in Versailles to get assistance during the Revolutionary war. And, other things that Bill will find interesting, and put here.

You may recall my bristling at the "one-sided" version of history in Vietnam. Well, they had an extensive write up of the history of the American Revolution around the waiting room. It was...well very flattering to both the Americans and the French, and not so much for the Brits. It was also a little curious that the success of the American Revolution was the catalyst for the French Revolution a decade-ish later. I couldn't help wondering if King Louis XVI had forseen that, would he have still helped the Americans? Likely not.

The VR was really interesting. It was the first time that Bill and I had ever done something like this. It’s hard to describe how you can be standing in the bow of a ship…but, know you are standing next to some other people in the middle of a room. For me, the neatest thing was being able to conduct an orchestra and the band would catch up and slow down according to my directing.

Theresa on a "Ship" in the Middle of the Ocean
(The fan hits you right in the face when you step
up to that spot, a deck on the "ship".
But it looks ridiculous otherwise!! LOL!!)

After the VR experience, we had a “skip the line” pass, which we were VERY grateful for. The line was really long…and we just were walked up to the front, where they unclipped the swing gate and let us in.

Versailles is an amazing palace, which started as a small hunting lodge in 1623, and grew through the reign of multiple kings. You know the song “A picture is worth a thousand words”? That is truly the case here – so, please enjoy a look around the castle and grounds!

The Chapel

How to Hang Pictures without damaging the walls.

Doors in a row -- showing the different colors of each room

Queens & Princesses

Whatcha Looking At? That hairdo!!

Hard to tell -- but these are big logs!

The King's Bed -- though only used for Going to Bed and Waking up Ceremonies

The entry to the Hall of Mirrors

The Hall of Mirrors

Mirrors to the Left, Windows to the Right

They grow Oranges in the Hall

The Queen's Bed. Unlike the King, this is used for everything, including public births. Just to the left of the bed is a secret door which Marie Antoinette used

Another look at various room through the doorway

The Hall of Battles -- Inaugurated in 1837 depicting Great Battles throughout History. The Largest single room in the castle. There were 33 huge portraits of historic French battles.