Today we gave the Palace at Versailles our grand tour. Between the palace and the gardens, we were there for six hours! The palace was incredible. Our eyes were blinded by all of the gold that covered everything. The King's bed chamber was just an entire room of floor to ceiling gold, which was pretty much the theme throughout the palace. I guess when you're the King you can decorate however you want: "I like this, but does it come coated in a layer of pure gold?—Great. Then I'll take 600 please."
We spent the majority of our time in the glorious Gardens of Versailles, the personal backyard of King Louis XV. Just consider a guy who drenches the most elaborate palace in the world in solid gold, and then imagine what he would do with 2000 acres out his back window. It was an enormous, beautiful paradise, perfectly manicured in every direction. We got lost, several times. We walked for hours all around it, and it was wonderful. The King built a huge series of canals, so big that he and his buddies would play on the 32-cannon ship they floated on it. The ship is gone, but we still enjoyed a lovely picnic at the water's marble edge.
We wandered around, escaping the crowds of the palace, where ethnic tour groups fill the walkways, moving together like a large, highly-viscous blob. But out in the garden, it was just the two of us walking along. In this beautiful countryside setting, we felt like we were the only people in France. We both agreed that so far, it was our favorite moment of wonderful trip.
As usual, I'm on the verge of crashing while I type. The day continued with more walking (over six hours total today), a train back to Paris, Notre Dame, and pizza in the Latin Quarter.
Only a couple days left! On with the adventure...
Inside The Versailles Palace
The Hall of Mirrors. It was amazing!
Lots and lots of GOLD!!
CheyAnn on our long journey to the King's Gardens.
Another favorite picture of Adam.
The whole garden was so perfect.
The King's Colonnade Grove—another random extravagance in the Gardens.
The Grand Canal.
Just chillin' listening to the classical music.
We loved this walkway. Just perfect!
Ice cream and the country, what more do you need?
Silhouettes captured at our favorite spot in France.
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