Princess Versailles

That's what you all can call me from now on.  :o)

On our first full day in Paris, we took the train out to Versailles, one of my most favorite places around Paris.  We hopped the 8:00am train to get west of Paris and headed for Versailles as it opened right at 9:00.  With our museum pass, we bypassed the long lines to buy tickets and got right past security into the chateau before it got busy.  It can be a zoo at times as the most popular Chateau in France, so by arriving early, we alleviated some of the crowd stress.  

Ready to head in.

 As you enter the grounds, the chateau sits luminously in front of you, a building of gold beauty--it's really quite impressive.  The one way walk through the chateau takes you through all the important and recognizable rooms.

Versailles includes the chateau, the gardens, the Trianon Palaces and the Domaine de Marie-Antoinette.  The king and France's government ruled from Versailles for one hundred years.  Louis XIV, who ruled from 1643 to 1715, moved out of the Louvre and built this elaborate chateau because of his love for the outdoors.  In the early 1700s, Versailles was the heartbeat of Europe.  Everyone wanted to act, eat, dress and speak French.   

 A sneak peak of the gardens.

 Beautiful art on ceiling.

 Love the room colors!

Bedrooms

 Hall of mirrors

Ready for dinner?

 Out in the gardens.

 So beautiful

 Me and my honey.

 I love the precision and perfectly trimmed trees.

 We'll just call him Prince Versailles.

 Because the gardens are so large, we decided to rent a golf cart to get around.  Dad and I did this the last time and it was so much fun.  We wanted to make sure we saw everything so we needed a fast form of transportation--walking wasn't going to cut it.

 More lines of trees...love it!

Posing for the camera.

 I think this is one of the trianon palaces--maybe the Petite Trianon

 We stopped for lunch and I got hot chocolate.  It was a little chilly that day and I loved how it was served.

 How pretty is this--LOVE the colors.

 All of us.

 Dad in his happy place.

 In front of the Grand Trianon Palace.

 Taking a break from walking.

 Temple of Love

 Me with my love in front of the Temple of Love.

 In the Domaine de marie-Antoinette.

 Crazy fish in the water.

 So pretty--Domaine de Marie-Anoinette

 One of Dad's favorite pictures from our last trip was of me hugging a tree at Versailles.  So, we had to recreate it--I don't think it is the same as last time.

 On the train ride back to Paris--we got rained on just a bit, that's why we were sad.

We had a really great day at Versailles, so we were really actually very happy. :o)

That's it for Versailles.  I know I've said this in almost every post from France, but these pictures really don't do it justice.  Versailles truly is breathtaking and if you're in Paris, you NEED to go.  I could have put way more pictures up, but I believe you've probably had enough of the picture overload.  If you would like to see my 2,900 pictures, I'd be more than happy to give you a personal showing.  But for now, just take these in as if you traveled with us.  

I have saved the best for last.  Last, but definitely not least, is the Eiffel Tower.  The pictures are incredible, I promise.