Hameau de la Reine

The hamlet of the Queen, designed by Richard Mique for Marie Antoinette, was built in the mid 1780's. Marie needed an escape from all of the formalities of court life so she built her own small palace and this hamlet complete with working farm. Here, she and her attendants escaped their regular lives and pretended to be peasants. It had a working farmhouse, mill, and dairy. (Of course, other people did all the work.. not the Queen..) But still, it was a way for her to get away from her responsibilities and relax. Even the King couldn't come without an invitation.

Now that you know a little bit about it, I'll tell you the important stuff. It's great. This artificial town was by far my favorite stop that day in Versailles and I can see why Marie Antoinette loved it. You feel as though you are hundreds of miles away, walking through a tiny village and at any minute, there should be farmers and merchants and horse drawn carriages. It is an escape. A beautiful, quaint, perfect escape. And, if I had known what I know now- I would just skip all the other stuff and come here for a picnic.

The farmhouse

 I love this little guy. They were all so sweet. Didn't live up to their names at all. ; )

There were pigs, donkeys, goats, sheep, ducks, rabbits, chickens, and cows. Now, in French!

Cochons,  ânes, chèvres, mouton, canards, lapins, poulets, et vaches!

A Vineyard

Part of the dairy

The mill

I love this picture.. that may be conceited of me.. since I took it. But I still love it. 

 Oh! I forgot.. and Swans. Cygnes in French.

 I might love this one too.. 

But I know I love this one! 

If you would like to see more of the pictures from le domaine de Marie Antoinette follow the links here (for shutterfly) and here (for facebook)

Happy Tuesday Everyone!