Oh My Word!: Versailles

Tuesday, August 24, 2010

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!

Monday, August 23, 2010

Versailles

Ok! I promise, I am really back now! The past week has been crazy with picture editing, John being sick, me being sick, and our computer going on the fritz -again-. I had every intention of blogging all through the week as I had the pictures edited and it was just too much. 975 pictures makes for a lot of work and I am of the personality that it HAS to be done NOW. Otherwise they are staring me in the face and I can't finish anything else. So, after staring much too long at a computer screen, a knot forming beside my right shoulder blade, and my right hand transforming itself into "the claw" from the mouse- they are all finished. Yeh!!

First stop on our trip to Paris- the Palace of Versailles. A little history to start us off! The palace was the seat of the French government from 1682 until the Royals were forced out during the revolution. Louis the 14th wanted to get out of Paris and he wanted to better control his courtiers, advisers, and provincial rulers. In moving everything (and everyone) to Versailles, he,sort of, achieved this.

The palace is huge. There are rooms for games, rooms for billiards, smoking rooms, big ballrooms, small ballrooms, bedrooms, long hallways, and chapels. Louis never had to leave. For John and I, the best part of the palace was the garden. This massive garden was divided into several different sections. Each is completely closed off from the next and you feel like you are in your own little world. There are fountains everywhere, some huge and elaborate, others small and simple. At the end of the formal gardens, a grand canal starts. There, you can rent a boat and row your way around for a bit.

It is so strange walk through this palace and the garden and think that people lived here. I can just see Marie Antoinette getting up in the morning and saying to her ladies, "Yes, I think we will go for a walk to the Canal today. Please prepare my very best, largest hat."