We ventured outside of Paris Saturday night for a trip to the Chateau Versailles. Versailles was originally a hunting lodge used by French royalty when they wanted a break from their royal duties. However, King Louis XIV had a grander plan. In 1661 he began construction of a huge Palace, spending a enormous amount of money. Eventually Versailles included a spectacular main castle, two smaller castles, almost 2000 acres of gardens filled with statues and fountains, a long canal, and a small hamlet, where Queen Marie Antoinette pretended to be a shepherdess and took care of sheep! The site is truly magnificent, but the French citizens were not happy that Louis the XIV and the next two kings spent so much tax money on Versailles when the people of France were starving. In 1789 a mob of angry citizens invaded the castle and forced the royal family back to Paris, where they were imprisoned and eventually beheaded! This was one of the first events in the French revolution. Now Chateau Versailles is an opulent museum. When you walk through it and see the extravagence and excess, it is easy to understand why the ordinary French citizen was outraged.
On Saturday night we watched a demonstration of music and dancing as it would have been done by the Royal Court in the seventeenth century. Then we went outside to see a spectacular sound and light show that showcased the many statues and fountains throughout the garden. It was a fantastic evening.
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| Here are two of the dancers in period costume. |
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Looking down the Hall of Mirrors in Versailles.
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Here is a link to a video of the Chateau
Here is a sample of the French dancing done at the Chateau
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| Fountains, lights, fireworks - even better than Disney! |
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| Part of the Outdoor light show. |
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