Paris trip in May 2001
Tuesday, May 22nd
One of the most impressive museums, the Louvre, is closed on Monday and very busy on Tuesday. So we took the opportunity to go to Versailles
and the Eiffel Tower. Mark wrangled his way through the downtown tunnels, figuring out the maps (VOUS ETES ICI!) and getting us off of one metro
subway and onto another one. 30 minutes later we arrived at Versailles.
Louis XIV basically got sick of the public and city life. His father had built a small (?) hunting lodge in the country...
...and Louis XIV decided to expand it and built a place all for himself in the country. There were originally 1500 fountains at the palace. Today there
are only 300 left. Unfortunately, the fountains weren’t in operation while we visited, but the King’s dream palace and gardens were impressive all
the same.
He even built his own canal where couples could ride in gondolas without making the trip to Venice.
The town of Versailles was laid out in an 8-mile axis. The palace is just massive. And the gardens beyond are immense. There is a huge statue of
Louis XIV on horseback as he sits right between his U-shaped palace.
Louis XIV also moved partly due to politics. He consolidated all the nobles and political people in one place so he could control them more. All
decisions were made by him. 5000 nobles were at Versailles at any one time...with all the company they brought with them. He also created a great
deal of jealousy in building his palace, as every king wanted one like it. Everyone wanted to learn French, wear French clothes, get their hair cut
like the French, have the same plays and music. 18 million people united under Louis XIV and he developed a strong military presence and a
booming economy. France became Europe’s #1 power.

Louis XIV was considered a true Renaissance man...athletic, good-looking, a good dancer, a great art lover, etc. He had over 300 wigs that he
changed many times a day. This particular “fashion” was first started by Louis XIV when he noticed his hairline beginning to recede. And even
though he thought of himself as the Sun God (warming everything he touched), he was a very approachable and personable man.

There were 3 Louis’s that lived at Versailles. Louis XIV, Louis XV and Louis XVI. Louis XIV carried on for 72 years. Louis XV continued the traditions
and policies, but didn’t have as much charisma as his father. The people started thinking about rebellion. When Louis XVI took over, the country
needed a strong leader, but instead Louis XVI was a shy bookworm. He married Austrian-born Marie-Antoinette...
...and they retreated into the setting of Versailles as far away from the city and the people as they could. The people had nothing left to do but let
the revolution begin!
In normal Paris fashion, the place was just huge. So many paintings and sculptures, so much history and artwork. Every inch of the rooms were
covered with some design, fabric or art. One of the first rooms was the Royal Chapel. It was the only reference to Christianity in the building. Louis
attended mass every morning, but when mass was over, after the nobles would worship God, they would turn their backs to the alter and worship
Louis.
It was a public place (even back then) so anyone could
join in the festivities and garden games. Even the poor
people. In fact, everything that Louis did was public. The
people used to fight over who would hold the candle
while he got into his jammies at night.
Room after room after room in this palace was used to display the idea that pleasure was first in the King’s mind. There was a billiards room, and a
Venus room “of love”. Concerts were also a happening thing. But the most favorite thing was gambling. Once Louis had all the nobles in his palace
playing games, he could go on and rule the country the way he wanted to. He also loaned them money for gambling…making them even more in
debt to him.
We worked our way around the palace and came to the halfway point. ½ of the U-shape was the King’s quarters and the other ½ the Queen’s. The two
were separated by the Hall of Mirrors.
Mirrors were a luxury in those days and the size of
these mirrors was incredible. On one side of a
huge, 250-foot long hallway were 17 arched mirrors
that went from floor to ceiling. On the opposite side,
were 17 matching windows…which of course
displayed the garden view outside. In between, 24
candelabras hung from the ceiling. Statues and
sculptures lined the hall in between each of the
windows. It really was an overwhelming and
magnificent room.
The second half of the palace was dedicated to the Queen’s rooms, where she held parties, concerts and games for her family and friends. 2 queens
lived in this half of the palace and 19 princes were born there. There were secret doors that led from her chambers to the King’s. Most of the formal
dinner’s were held in the Queen’s rooms. A typical meal would consist of 4 soups, 2 whole birds stuffed with truffles, ham, fruit, pastry and preserves.
The last Queen, Marie Antoinette, really became a symbol of decadence as she and her husband, Louis XVI hid away in the palace enjoying all the
luxuries of Versailles, while all around them things in the country were falling apart. The revolutionary people eventually ransacked Versailles, dragged
away the King and Queen and beheaded them both.
No sooner did the country rid itself of a king,
than the emperor, Napoleon took the throne.
He married Josephine, who then became
France’s empress. There were quite a few
paintings, portraits and statues of both of them
in the remaining rooms.
Louis XIV even gave the appearance of controlling nature by keeping his gardens so tidy and trimmed, that no one questioned he truly was the Sun
God. Some things were too sensitive for the cooler growing conditions in Paris. So he would hide things, like orange trees in the greenhouses
underneath the garden grounds all winter long and when the weather was warm enough, he would roll them out into the gardens, giving the appearance
that he could grow anything.
As if this all wasn’t enough, the future Louis’s weren’t quite comfortable with certain aspects of the palace. Someone wanted a “summer house” and built
additional palaces elsewhere. Another wanted to study more about plants and nature and built another palace in another part of the gardens. They built
a temple of love...12 marble columns supporting a dome...where a statue of Cupid rests...to show society the rich could "afford" romantic love. And still
12 more buildings to keep Marie Antoinette happy when she didn’t feel comfortable being around the sophisticated city people anymore.
Needless to say, by the time we returned from our trip, we
were quite overwhelmed. We took a small break…meaning I
took a nap and Mark explored the shops surrounding our
hotel. And then we ventured out to the Eiffel Tower.
As we went
late in the
day, there
was no line
to get in.
We were
amazed.
It was built for the 1889 World’s
Fair. Most of the French hated it.
Some people ate lunch there just
so they wouldn’t have to look at it.
We made it to all 3 platforms…200,
400 and 900 feet. The view is
spectacular from all platforms.
On the way back down, we walked
down from the 2nd platform to the first.
We walked back toward our hotel
through a park area...Champs de Mars.
It’s where everyone picnics and waits
for the Eiffel Tower lights to come on
at night. Its easy to understand how
Paris can be considered so romantic.