Versailles Finale

The whole trip had been amazing, and for my "grand finale" I opted to stay in Versailles for a trip to the temple and the (of course) the palace. My Airbnb was a room in a charming historic home in a neighborhood close to both, which was fortunate. I was enjoying a leisurely breakfast of decadent hot chocolate and toast when my host explained that their house was too close to the temple for Ubers to bother coming into the neighborhood to transport me to the temple (which had been my plan). I had just enough time to jog/walk to the temple, and the workers were kind enough to stall long enough for me to get ready. This temple was only dedicated a few years ago and the architecture was simple, but the stained glass windows were gorgeous! Each room's windows depicted different flowers, and later I realized that the first floor windows were the same flowers but as buds. While this could simply be that the windows were a two story design, I like the imagery of us coming into full bloom as we draw closer to Christ.

In the courtyard of the temple's gardens.

The temple's gardens.

The front of the temple.

Afterward I walked back to my Airbnb to change, and got a recommendation from my host on a nearby pastry shop for both sweet and savory pastries for lunch. All were amazing!

My dessert pastry with its take-out box.

I arrived at the Palace before my timed ticket, which meant I had plenty of time to explore the gardens before going in. I'd heard the gardens were extensive, but the sheer scale of it didn't sink in until I heard it was several times the size of New York's Central Park. This was one of the first days of the season the fountains and music were turned on so it was fun hiking out to explore them and try to envision what court life was like here.

Side facing the gardens

Those canals in the distance are part of the gardens.

Latona Fountain (mother of Apollo and Diana), depicting the bad guys getting turned into (gilded) turtles and frogs.

strolling the grounds

the Mirror Fountain was my favorite

 

Topiary trees

Bronze statues flanking the reflecting pond.

More topiary trees and statues

Buying a timed ticket easily saved me an hour in line, but did not save me dealing with hoards of tourists in every room. The over-the-top gilding and ornamentation, combined with Louis' making himself into a godlike figure to be worshiped, and the jostling of the tourists, was such a stark contrast to the temple. Pretty in its own way and historic, but by the end a bit much for me.

Known for his dancing skills and sense of fashion.

The Hall of Mirrors—among other things, the treaty ending WW1 was signed here.

The king's bed where lucky people could watch him wake up (part of his branding to convey he's more powerful than the sun).

This room was decorated to show France defeating its neighboring kingdoms.

Another wing of the palace showed where the daughters of the king lived; this was one of their bedrooms.

The weather had started to turn by the time I left the "chateau", but there was one more area I was determined to see. Wrapping my scarf around my head and hiking out there in the rain, Marie Antoinette had commissioned a rustic-looking hamlet to escape palace life with the grounds around it in an "English style" to look more natural. It reminded me a little of Disneyland, especially since everything was on a diminutive scale.

A few of the buildings in Marie Antoinette's hamlet

The queen's small house

I was exhausted by the time I left the gardens, but still a little surprised to see this Fitbit notification:

My last night consisted of a stroll through the town where I saw this street art:

...and enjoying a good meal before packing. I was exhausted from the pace of travel and looking forward to just sitting on the long flights back, but overwhelmingly grateful for everything I'd experienced over the past week.