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I arrived 2 days ago without any problems at the Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris. From the airport, our group took a bus to the town of Versailles, where we’ve been for orientation. So, in the mornings, I have a little French class with other upper-level students, and this afternoon, we took a trip to the palace of Versailles and the Petit Trianon, a house on the edge of the gardens. The palace was absolutely breathtaking in its size and splendor. There is gilt everywhere! Every room has a painted ceiling, but the original paintings and furniture are in the Louvre (the paintings were taken during the first revolution in 1789, but the furniture was nearly all silver and melted down in the 1670’s due to low funds). When the monarchy was restored, King Louis-Philippe made Versailles a museum, but the only open room in his museum is the Napoleon room. It is decorated by his military victories, coronation painting and portraits of his wives.
We then took a bus up to the Petit Trianon (it was 2 km in the mud, so we didn’t walk). I liked it better than the palace; it was smaller and not so over-embellished. The grounds were gorgeous, but it was wet and all the plants were dead. I want to go back in the spring to see everything in bloom!
Pictures/other blog here: http://web.me.com/samanthacornelius/La_R%C3%A9tour_%C3%A0_Paris/My_Albums/My_Albums.html
We then took a bus up to the Petit Trianon (it was 2 km in the mud, so we didn’t walk). I liked it better than the palace; it was smaller and not so over-embellished. The grounds were gorgeous, but it was wet and all the plants were dead. I want to go back in the spring to see everything in bloom!
Pictures/other blog here: http://web.me.com/samanthacornelius/La_R%C3%A9tour_%C3%A0_Paris/My_Albums/My_Albums.html
