Versailles

Versailles

Sept 18

The first time I went to Paris was in the spring of the 5th grade, approximately 10 years ago. The city captured my heart and so began my years long obsession with anything and everything French. That first visit sparked my love for the language, sunsets on the seine, and the rich (but bloody) history of the country. I never made it to Versailles during that first trip to Paris with my mom and sister, but the seed was planted in my mind (obviously). When we got back to the states I tried to ingest anything and everything French. Here is a list of everything, just for your entertainment

- Started to play the ACCORDION

-listened to french music whenever possible

- watched Ratatouille probs once a week

- cooked a lot of French food, and always requested a French restaurant for birthday dinners

-decorated my room with Eiffel towers (typical)

- received Eiffel tower / Paris themed gifts for the next 7 birthdays

- Started taking French at school

- Read an incredible amount of fiction and non fiction about the French Revolution

So the point being is that getting to go back to what once was my favorite city in the world, and to also get to visit THE palace of the Sun King and Marie Antoinette was extremely exciting. 

Our visit the Palace included a guided tour organized by my school, since our trip to Paris was technically a field trip with one of my classes. Versailles was incredibly crowded that afternoon with an onslaught of tourists from every corner of the world, which slightly took away from the experience of being somewhere with so much grandeur. BUT, that's just a part of traveling. So make the most of the sweaty old man that keeps bumping into you, take your photos, bask in the history and beautiful golden decor and then take a step out into the gardens for a breath of fresh air (and personal space). 

I hope to return to Versailles again at some point, and just take the time to walk around on my own. The space is huge, and with so much to see it can lead you to feel quite overwhelmed. But, then again I'm lucky that I'm just a tourist and not Marie Antoinette herself moving into this grand French palace and being forced to leave every bit of my old identity behind. That sounds slightly more stressful to me. 

After our tour I enjoyed a nice (and very large) stuffed crepe in a quaint Brassiere close by and escaped the rains that decided to make an appearance for the afternoon. 

If you've been to Versailles, what was your favorite part of the palace!

Bonsoir! 

Aleksandra