Versailles

By the time we got to Versailles, we were totally exhausted. Our minds were buzzing with sleep deprivation, our feet ached from a week of hiking through Germany and Switzerland, and we were hungry. Well, at least the last one could be remedied. We bought baguettes, and munched on them as we got our tickets and entered the palace courtyard.



A row of sculptures lined a walkway near the entrance. Jenny's favorite was Joan of Arc. Ornate marble and gold fill the palace with regal splendor.



Here is the queen's bedroom, and a detail from the ceiling.



It's hard to describe the splendor of the Hall of Mirrors. Louis XIV really knew how to spend that tax money. Here I am in the War Room. I also took a photo of Jenny in the Peace Room, but like many things in life, it didn't turn out well.



The rooms of artwork celebrating French History seemed to go on and on.



After seeing the palace, we collapsed in the sculpture gardens. I wanted to keep going, but Jenny felt quite satiated. A guide told us that the water pressure was inadequate to keep all fountains going at the same time during Louis XIV's time, so a given fountain would be turned on just before they came into the king's view, and off as soon as he left.



This is about as far as we made it in the Versailles Gardens. The gorgeous landscape stretched to the horizon.