Versailles
Sunday, myself and my crew of the earth’s population headed over to Versailles. This one was a bit too far of a walk, so I did survive the metro! Versailles, the town, was very cute. It wasn’t busy at all, and I was able to sit down and peacefully eat my fruit before training back. The weather was gorgeous.
I downloaded a free audio tour app on my phone but it was broken up into fragments. Every section of the palace had a new audio tour to start, and I couldn’t figure out where I was or what corresponding audio tour I was supposed to be listening to, so I just meandered my way around and listened to audios in whatever order I felt like. I still learned a lot. It was one of those classic, “by now you should have turned left into a bedroom” and I had turned right into a kitchen, scenarios. Nonetheless, it was gorgeous. Everywhere you look was glamour. Looking around my bedroom now feels so grey and bland. I can’t help but feel that these stunning properties would be appreciated much more if they weren’t packed to the brim! You’re quite literally in an assembly line just shuffling along a path marked off by ropes. I don’t expect to be able to take a nap in the king’s bed or anything, but a little freedom or space to breath would go a long way. I met a woman here who was also travelling alone. She invited me to join her around the rest of the palace, and the company was nice! She was an interesting person; a thirty-year old from New York traveling solo for her birthday. She was very media-obsessed and seemed to be there only for the photo-ops. I ended up being her personal photographer and videographer as she explained the tiktoks she wanted to make. It was very entertaining, and I still got to see everything I wanted to. There’s a richer history, but what stuck with me is that Palace of Versailles was primarily King Louis XVI’s estate, and a big controversy during the french revolution, plus a lot about his relationship with Marie Antoinette.
The palace was beautiful, but the gardens were the star of the show in my opinion. I can only imagine what they would have looked like in their prime, being maintained daily. I googled how big the gardens are, and they’re 2,000 acres (8km squared!). None of my photos do it justice. Every few steps there were these walkways between tall hedges that stretched horizontally for ages, creating this pattern like a corn maze surrounding the main vertical strip. Imagine waking up in this golden palace and going for a walk along a property like this. I now understand why those working and struggling to afford morning bread during the revolution were so outraged. I do feel a bit sad that every green space I have seen in Paris has been curated or man-made. I’m craving the woods. I’m tailoring my week in southern France accordingly, so stay tuned for that change of pace.
Everything in Palace of Versailles was just big. I know most are artifacts that were put up for tourists, but the size of the paintings were tens of meters long. The rooms were the sizes of my whole house back home. The picture of me looking miniature in front of this long stretch of palace? That’s just one of its many wings! There were four fountains and an entire lake that belonged solely to this estate. I wonder how much this would sell for on the real estate market these days. I wonder if France could sell one singular castle and solve homelessness in the country. I have so many hypothetical questions about the sizes of these monuments.
Earlier this week, on a similar note, I visited Notre Dame after school. Another deceptively large monument. You see it in photos but I’m very fortunate to be able to see them in person and truly scale just how impressive they are. I was also lucky because I happened to go during a mass, which was a tad bit awkward having this swarm of tourists surround what’s supposed to be a very quiet and reflective experience, but there were women singing and the organ playing which made me feel a little less cramped by strangers and more at peace.
Weekend 2/3 in Paris, check! Only one left. It’s going by so fast.
Reflections so far:
Walking everywhere is really fun, I want to get back into that habit.
Pairs is beautiful and full of life and history, but it is just a bit too crowded for my comfort level.
Solo travel is a very rewarding and reflective experience.
Cheers friends,
Beda
