A Trip to Versailles

On Saturday morning, everyone did what they felt like and then we met at St. Michael's fountain before getting on the train to take the 35-minute train trip to Versailles. Before going, we tried to review a little bit of French history - even though the beginnings of Versailles were around for some previous French kings, the real expansion and height of glory for Versailles occurred under Louis XIV, the "Sun King." It was certainly clear that Louis XIV had a huge ego!

In addition to the massive living quarters, church, opera house, etc., there were acres of incredible gardens. At one point, after Louis XIV moved the seat of the French government from Paris to Versailles, there were over 10.000 people who lived and worked at Versailles.

Certainly after seeing it, we had greater appreciation for why the French Revolution occurred, (the disparity between the people who lived at court and the French masses was so extreme), and how the "1%" lived in the late 1700's! None of my photos taken on my "point and shoot" camera do it justice, but suffice it to say that the grandeur and excess was amazing!