Chateau Versailles: The land of of gold everything, intense wallpaper, and portraits of pompous french men

"We have to see Versailles," Uncle Tom responded when I told him the commute there was over an hour. It was 9:30 a.m. and he had to be back to the hotel to check out by 12:30. It was his and Rachel's last day in Paris.

"I don't know if we can do it," I said. 

twenty minutes later we were in a cab on our way to Versailles...I didn't know you could take cabs to Versailles. 

The ride was 30 minutes, perfect timing. My mouth dropped a bit as we pulled up. It was enormous. Yes, I had learned about Versailles in every french class. I had watched youtube footage, seen photos of the galerie des glaces, heard about all of the gold and ornate architecture.

Nothing could compare to seeing it in person.

( Even though I lived in Paris before for six months, I did not make it to Versailles. Nor did I make it to the Mona Lisa, however I feel that excursion will be a bit less climatic than Versailles). 

We were very overwhelmed by the history of the space; stone coffins with beautiful sculptures of those who rested within lined the corridors. Dating back to 1400's, 1500's, 1600's, etc. Everything was marble and gold. Again, it was difficult to comprehend how old this Chateau was, and what kind of life was lead in such a palace. We marveled at the disparity between the rich and the poor at that time, how angry a peasant must have been when he saw the Chateau from a distance (same issues, different century. Womp womp.)

The royal rooms were very outrageous. Each was covered in a loud, rich wall tapestry that set the theme-royal blue with flowers, pink with white vines, blood red with light pink swirls, etc. The walls were also filled with portraits of all the families, children, Europe, wars, landscapes, etc. The best painitings were of the large french male dukes and royals wearing wigs and looking snubbly at the camera, secretly pleased with themselves for reasons we will never know...though we can guess. 

After about eight or nine rooms I was over stimulated. They all began to look the same: ridiculously wealthy. 

My favorite part, besides the gardens, was the galerie des glaces. It is an entire corridor filled with mirrors and chandeliers--breathtaking and delicate. 

Due to our time crunch, we had to do Versailles in an hour and were whizzing through rooms by the end. I was actually pleased by this, I think I would have been completely overwhelmed if we hadn't. 

We found a cab and headed back to Paris, toute de suite. However, I did peak out and notice how enchanting the actual town of Versailles looked and decided to return just to explore. 

 After our whirlwind exploration we had a final lunch and said goodbyes. I was a bit heartbroken about departing from family members and heading back to my apartment, alone. Thirty seconds later I was standing in line at a boulangerie, ordering fresh bread and an apple tarte. Not a bad way to cure the blues.