Paris

Yep, I have more photos in this post from the Eades’ family visit to the Palace of Versailles in Paris, France in February of this year (2020).

The first part of the photos can be seen at this link.

In a lot of ways the Palace of Versailles represents the extremes of extravaganza. The place is huge and so are the doors. The artwork on the doors is very detailed and intricate, with the use of a lot of gold. Two commissioned busts stand guard on either side of the doors, and check out the detail on that small table on the right. No wonder the French staged a revolution.

Probably an ode to himself, King Louis XVI. The palace was his principal royal residence.

The kings back then were very full of themselves, in my opinion.

A large crowd in the Hall of Mirrors at the Palace of Versailles. Look at the chandeliers and the painting on the ceiling.

If a king doesn’t like the view out the window, he can always change it to a large pond with fountains in the middle of it.

I stood at this spot for about a half hour to finally get a photo without a lot of people lined up to stare at the mirrors.

A lot of golden statues, each one different, line the window side of the Hall of Mirrors.

The extravagance and, frankly, outright decadence of the Hall of Mirrors reflects what the whole Palace of Versailles represents. At least it’s now a museum for the public to tour.

Not only are the rooms large at the Palace of Versailles, as are the doors – even the doors that open up out onto the balcony.

One of the royal beds at the Palace of Versailles. I think this one was for the queen.

This very elaborate clock above one of the fireplaces is very ornate. I’d hate to be the timekeeper.

More of the gardens at the Palace of Versailles. Look at the ornate hedges in this garden. I’d hate to be the gardener responsible for keeping them in good shape.

The gardens are very large, as you can see from the people walking about them. We did not as it was extremely windy and cold that day.

An ornate bed for a very ornate king.

I guess the queen knew her place in the king’s society. Check out how many handmaidens the queen has to assist her.

I’m sure this painting was of a battle that was won.

Both sides of this hallway are lined with extremely large paintings and a plethora of white busts.

A famed figure in French history.

Cardinal Richelieu was vilified in a number of films, and of course in the short stories about “The Three Musketeers.”

And with this painting representing the ascent to heaven, this then has been my tour (in two parts) of the Palace of Versailles.

Next up is a walk around the block near our hotel, discovering all the different restaurants within one block, and the tale of getting to Paris from London.

When my family and I visited Paris in February of this year (2020), we did get a chance to visit the beautiful Palace of Versailles. It was a very windy and cold day, so we were limited to the main entrance and the inside and could not go out into the garden. Still, the palace is very beautiful.

This was a trip with all our kids, all of whom are in this photo.

Of course to get to the Palace of Versailles you have to take public transportation which can mean a train, Uber or other. This is a street near palace.

Everything at the Palace of Versailles seems to be excess, but that was the era of Louis XIV.

One can see that the sculptor tried to inject some kind of political statement about “on the backs of others” in my opinion of this statue at the Palace.

One can just imagine the various ladies in their large dresses and the gentlemen in their overstate outfits walking up these steps to visit the king.

If you’re the king you get to build your own place to worship, complete with organ. No, they did not play it for us while there.

When walking the halls of the palace you can expect to see art of various forms everywhere.

Statues line most of the long hallways of the palace.

All the statues were of various people or more. I couldn’t begin to list them and didn’t try to keep track during my short visit.

I don’t remember it being a tomb, but I think it was meant as a way to honor a valiant knight.

The fountains were not running in the gardens because the winds were blowing very, very hard. The trams tours of the garden were also cancelled. This photo was taken from a window on the side of the palace facing the gardens. I wonder what it’s like to mow those lawns and trim those hedges?

Not just satisfied with paintings on the walls of the many rooms, the king had paintings done on the ceilings of many of the large rooms.

As you can see, the paintings hanging in many of the large rooms are not small at all.

When the room is larger, have even more paintings commissioned. Empty spaces are not something the king wanted in his palace.

The gold leaf above the huge “walk-in” fireplace and the huge painting caused this lady to stop and ponder her ideas for decorating her house, I am sure.

I hope you enjoyed this visit to the Palace of Versailles.

You can click on this link to see the photos and read about the visit to the Eiffel Tower.

There are more photos from the Eades’ family tour of the Palace of Versailles and you can click on this link to see them.