Honeymoon - day 2

On route to Gare Saint-Lazare we picked up a ham and cheese baguet and coffee to eat on the train, delicious. Our 30-minute journey afforded us some wonderful views of Paris, La Tour Eiffel and Montmartre. We would be visiting them on another occasion; today we were heading for Le Château de Versailles.

The Palace is just 15 minutes walk from the station, at the heart of Versailles. As well as awe at the splendour of the buildings, I was aghast at the length of the queues snaking around the courtyard. It took over 2 hours to obtain our tickets and entry to the Palace. Had we had the foresight to purchase tickets in advance it would have taken less than 30 minutes. You live and learn! Another lesson to be learnt from my experience is wear comfortable walking shoes. We were walking round the house and gardens for over 5 hours and we still didn’t see everything.

The interior of Versailles is just stunning. Room after room of 17th century grandiose.

The Royal Chapel

The Hall of Mirrors

La Grande Galerie was used daily by courtiers and visitors for passing through and for meeting people but it was only used for ceremonies on exceptional occasions. Can you imagine the balls that were held in this hall with light bouncing of the mirrors, chandeliers and the jewels adorning the attendees. From this picture you can get some indication of just how crowded the Palace was during out visit!

The King's Bedchamber

The decore in this chamber was changed seasonally. That's the wall fabrics, the bed drapes, the curtains, even the upholstery on the furniture!


How do you imagine they keep those feathers so dust free and pristine?

The Queen's Bed Chamber

There was not much embroidery evident in the Palace. The best examples are probably in the Queen's bed chamber but you cannot get close enought to see it properly.


And finally, a little detail especially for Susan. There were many splendid tassels on display, but I thought that you would appreciate these little darlings!