Versaillles

On Monday, we spent the day at Versailles. It was beautiful, and it’s a spectacular chateau. The gardens are amazing and vast. My favourite part was, as it was last time, Marie Antoinette’s estate. Louis XVI built this little escape place for her about 1.5 km from the chateau. There is a hamlet of cottages, little ponds, animals, a gazebo, a lighthouse, and lots of walks. It was absolutely beautiful. Given that she herself was an Austrian princess before she came to France, I think she had a rather idyllic view of country life, especially considering how tough things were for the poor at that time. It looks more like a fairy tale village than a real place. It is beautiful though, and I can see why she wanted to spend time there. I was a bit sad that she was guillotined. There must have been other options. It’s ironic that the public wanted to kill her because of her position and wealth, when today people can’t get enough of it. Thousands flock to ‘her’ chateau and her little estate. The exhibition about her life at the Grand Palais was jam-packed when we went to see it.