Versailles

If you like gold, and glittz and grandeur - then Versailles is the place for you.

Everything about it is over the top. It's huge, and SO beautiful. Built as a hunting lodge originally, it was made into a giant summer palace by Louis the 16th and Marie Antionette. Well, they made it what it is today, anyway.

The Asian tourists could not get enough of our family on this outing. So I figured I may as well join them and get a couple shots too.

Versailles is not only totally beautiful, but very historial as well. As you may recall, the hall of mirrors (once just a regular hallway that doubled for lavish balls) is where the treaty was signed that ended the first world war. Yep. Armistice day. The very one I failed to remember on our day at Disneyland. We visited Versailles just days before the anniversary.

Giddie had gotten my point and shoot and his fingerprints were all over the lens for most of my Versailles pics - argh! Oh well. The 'fog' kind of gives it a softened, Doris Day look. Don't you think?

Another version of the painting is at the Louvre, and it's another that I love. It's the coronation of Napoleon. He's crowning himself king. Classy. But, it's not him I'm interested in. It's Josephine. Isn't she lovely? She's my favorite part of the painting. Wouldn't that bug Napoleon? Him not being the center of attention and all?

Free tour guides on little phones. Greatest thing ever. I got one for everyone in the family - even Gid. End everyone was happy the entire time.

Treaty of Versialles replica.

Simon took a lot of pictures of grand war scenes. And I mean a lot. And this place is covered with them. Giant pictires of war and greatness. Napoleon had most of these brought it. He liked himself. A lot.

Marie Antionette's bed. My favorite piece in the palace.

I've still never been to this place with the gardens in full bloom and the fountains on. Which many say is the real reason it's so famous. But we still enjoyed walking around in what it would have looked like in the more dreary months in the French countryside.

Marie and Louis were hanged after living here. They were the end of an era at Versailles. The people were poor and in an effort for Marie and Louis to seem 'commoners' they did lot's of 'we're just normal people' kinds of things. Like anyone that wanted could come and watch them and their children eat dinner. Not eat with them - watch them. At ten p.m. every night. And the palace was filled with French dignitaries from all over France, who lived at the palace most of the time. I think they said that something like a thousand people lived and worked here most of the time. No running water? No flushing toilets? No thank you. I don't care how fancy it was.

But it sure is fun to see it now.