On Thursday (30th of October) we went to the Château Versailles. It’s a little less than an hours trainride from Paris to Versailles, however we had to change trains because the traffic was irregular (as always!). When you arrive to Versailles it takes less than ten minutes to walk to the castle. I was actually a bit surprised that it is so near the rest of the city. We waited in line for more than an hour to buy tickets and it was freezing, so I would certainly recommend buying tickets in advance. For instance at the FNAC.
We did however finally make it to the front of the line and decided to have the castle tickets sans Marie Antoinettes estate, which proved to be the right decision because the weather was really against us in the afternoon! The castle is very impressive, but we had both thought that there would be a lot more to see. Maybe I will go back another time to do the 1½ hour guided tour that takes you into rooms that are otherwise not open to the public. It was really interesting to walk around these old rooms and imagine the lives of the people who lived here. I’ve been thinking a lot about a certain concept lately. Actually I think it’s something my brother said that started this line of thinking. He had read Homer’s Odyssey and he was surprised that the story – despite its age – was so sophisticated and portrayed reality with just as much accuracy and insight that we write today. That has made me think about the real people, who only live on in our minds as historical characters in books. They were real people too and had real emotions that were probably not so different from what the rest of us feel, if any different at all. Of course they were surrounded by different circumstances, but I don’t think that the fear Marie Antoinette must have felt is any different than the fear people would experience today if their lives and existence were threathened. It makes for a more intense exploration of the castle, when you keep that in mind. Especially visiting the beedroom from where she fled was a very special experience.
My interest in Marie Antoinette, which has always been there in some way, was sparked further by the book I got from my cousin Michael for Christmas a couple of years ago (Marie Antoinette by Antonia Fraser). It is very insightful, well written and it’s supposed to be well researched as well. I spend a good part of the end of June 2007 reading this book at my lovely terrace after exams were finally over and I can tell you it was a real treat! Also the film directed by Sophia Coppola is lovely, even more because the role of Marie Antoinette is played by Kirsten Dunst whom I just love.
The only downside to visiting the castle (except for the lines if you haven’t bought a ticket in advance) is that it’s very crowded, so its hard to take great photos inside. But at least you’re actually allowed to do photos and that’s just great! Another thing which is worth paying attention to is that if you exit the castle and the courtyard you cannot re-enter. We exited after visiting the castle to go and have lunch at the café and then we couldn’t re-enter to visit the souvenir shop. We managed however to get into the bookshop from where a friendly member of the staff led is into the castle again. The souvenir shop wasn’t that impressive however, and I’d say that you get more out of spending money in the bookshop, which was really nice and had Antonia Frasers book in stock as well!
Then it was time to visit the grand garden, however as I mentioned earlier the weather turned on us. From being simply very cold to being very cold and very rainy. So our visit to the garden was limited to a short 45 minute walk and the pictures we took there (including the one above) were taken while we alternated holding the umbrella over each others head!
Coming back to Paris we went back to the appartment and went online to search for an interesting place to have dinner. We found the Curieux Spaghetti Bar but once we found it we decided against it because the music was too loud. I’m sure we will go another time because the menu and the interior design is quite interesting, however after freezing most of the day and ending up being quite tired it was just not the evening for a “we’re-eating-in-a-trendy-disco” dinner. Another time. We ended up heading back to our new favorite Le Diable des Lombards and I ate exactly the same wonderful club sandwich once again.
We did however finally make it to the front of the line and decided to have the castle tickets sans Marie Antoinettes estate, which proved to be the right decision because the weather was really against us in the afternoon! The castle is very impressive, but we had both thought that there would be a lot more to see. Maybe I will go back another time to do the 1½ hour guided tour that takes you into rooms that are otherwise not open to the public. It was really interesting to walk around these old rooms and imagine the lives of the people who lived here. I’ve been thinking a lot about a certain concept lately. Actually I think it’s something my brother said that started this line of thinking. He had read Homer’s Odyssey and he was surprised that the story – despite its age – was so sophisticated and portrayed reality with just as much accuracy and insight that we write today. That has made me think about the real people, who only live on in our minds as historical characters in books. They were real people too and had real emotions that were probably not so different from what the rest of us feel, if any different at all. Of course they were surrounded by different circumstances, but I don’t think that the fear Marie Antoinette must have felt is any different than the fear people would experience today if their lives and existence were threathened. It makes for a more intense exploration of the castle, when you keep that in mind. Especially visiting the beedroom from where she fled was a very special experience.
My interest in Marie Antoinette, which has always been there in some way, was sparked further by the book I got from my cousin Michael for Christmas a couple of years ago (Marie Antoinette by Antonia Fraser). It is very insightful, well written and it’s supposed to be well researched as well. I spend a good part of the end of June 2007 reading this book at my lovely terrace after exams were finally over and I can tell you it was a real treat! Also the film directed by Sophia Coppola is lovely, even more because the role of Marie Antoinette is played by Kirsten Dunst whom I just love.
The only downside to visiting the castle (except for the lines if you haven’t bought a ticket in advance) is that it’s very crowded, so its hard to take great photos inside. But at least you’re actually allowed to do photos and that’s just great! Another thing which is worth paying attention to is that if you exit the castle and the courtyard you cannot re-enter. We exited after visiting the castle to go and have lunch at the café and then we couldn’t re-enter to visit the souvenir shop. We managed however to get into the bookshop from where a friendly member of the staff led is into the castle again. The souvenir shop wasn’t that impressive however, and I’d say that you get more out of spending money in the bookshop, which was really nice and had Antonia Frasers book in stock as well!
Then it was time to visit the grand garden, however as I mentioned earlier the weather turned on us. From being simply very cold to being very cold and very rainy. So our visit to the garden was limited to a short 45 minute walk and the pictures we took there (including the one above) were taken while we alternated holding the umbrella over each others head!
Coming back to Paris we went back to the appartment and went online to search for an interesting place to have dinner. We found the Curieux Spaghetti Bar but once we found it we decided against it because the music was too loud. I’m sure we will go another time because the menu and the interior design is quite interesting, however after freezing most of the day and ending up being quite tired it was just not the evening for a “we’re-eating-in-a-trendy-disco” dinner. Another time. We ended up heading back to our new favorite Le Diable des Lombards and I ate exactly the same wonderful club sandwich once again.
