Verdant Versailles

Salutations Readers!

Backside of Versailles

Versailles turned into 2 posts, I hope you don't mind.  There was just so much to see there - I highly recommend clearing an entire day to explore Versailles, its grounds and gardens, and the surrounding town.

As I mentioned before, Louis XIV wanted Versailles to intimidate all of its visitors.  And while he understood the prestige of a giant palace made with the finest materials around, he also knew that extensive grounds were even more impressive.  In what way?  Well, you see, gardens require constant up-keep in order to look perfect all the time.  When I really saw just how far the grounds stretched, I didn't even want to fathom how many people it took to help keep it in pristine shape.  Of course, it would have been more when the monarch of France was around because a few, especially Louis XVI, took things very personally if anything was out of its rightful place; Louis XVI seemed to think that if you didn't do exactly what he wanted (whether specific instructions were conveyed to you or not), then you must either have designs against him or do not respect his high-ness as King of France.

The Grounds

For example, and I really do find this quite amusing, there are so many fountains on the grounds that there's simply not enough water pressure to run all of them simultaneously.  The solution: grounds-people were stationed around the gardens to turn the fountains on and off as the king passed.  For this reason, there are only a few fountains visible from the palace - the rest are shielded by bushes and trees.  But, as far as the king knew, all the fountains were running all the time!

Everything you see in the picture entitled "The Grounds" is part of Versailles, and there is a beautiful symmetry about it all.

Self Reflection

The Bowler goes to Versailles

Gold at the Crossroads

As you can see from over my right shoulder in "Self Reflection," the grounds just stretch for miles in all directions.  I also really like this picture because Ben snapped it right after I took the "Gold at the Crossroads."  It's fun to turn the camera around every once in a while!  That is the camera responsible for all the pictures you see on this blog.

Not only are there hundreds of fountains, but many of them were fashioned with real gold!  The luxury just never seems to end at Versailles, but, then again, that was the point.  If Louis XIV had it his way, those sculptures probably would have been solid gold!

Thanks for reading!  There may be one more Paris post, but then it's onto those Italian adventure stories.