Day 131 of international places giving smiles – Remembering France and the Versailles palace
We entered the country of France from its Alsace region which is perched on the border of France. I couldn’t help noticing the luxuriant flowers that grew all over the place, which probably is why the perfume industry is so famous in France. I purchased a small souvenir to remind me of the French countryside of Alsace! The capital of Alsace region is Strasbourg which is another centre of the European Parliament.
The first comfort stop on the highway definitely had some kind of a French feel about it! We had covered about 10 countries in 17 days. It is amazing that the minute we cross borders there is a marked difference in the ambience and culture of the new country!
We saw the triangular shaped dark granite hills and these were part of the 360kms stretch of the Jura mountains along the French Swiss border. Janos told us that we were in the Franche Comte region which is known for its Comte cheese. We drove past the small town of Belfort which is situated in the natural gap between the Vosges and Jura mountains. The fortification walls with a black gate and some Roman ruins can be found in Belfort.
We then drove past the city of Besancon. This is the birthplace of the great French writer Victor Hugo. It is also the birthplace of the Lumiere brothers-the pioneers of film-making. This is also known as the watchmaking centre of France.
We were now in the Burgandy region, the most prestigious place for making French wines. We saw the Cote D’Or (golden hillside) a range of hills made from limestone flint and clay that run for around 60 kms. Next we drove on the southern section of Burgandy the Cote de Beaunne, and we could see the vineyards that produce great red and white wines.
The French dialect seems like a sing-song fashion, it sounds melodious in tune. Though I learnt to read and write French for 4 years, I did not learn how to speak it. The letter ‘h’ is silent in their vocabulary. Hotel means a house and not a hotel. ‘Boulangerie’ means a bakery that sells items like ‘baguette'(long bread), ‘quiche'(an omlette pie), croissants. ‘Patisserie’ is a place that sells pastries. ‘Crepe’ (pronounced crap) is a French delicacy which may include frog legs or snails.
Our guide Janos also asked us to look out for the French-made cars. The Renault is the average family car, the Peugeut is for style and the Citreon is for comfort. We still had a long drive on the French highway and Janos played a quiz game with us, asking us questions on the placed that we had visited. Our family knew the answers to all of them. The sweet Malaysian couple Dr. Albert and Naomi remarked that probably we were the only ones in the bus to make extra efforts to learn about each place in detail.
Probably for the first time in the trip we were fed up of the continuous driving. We stopped for lunch at a place called Pouilly En Auxois and then we crossed the Gatinais region. For the first time we experienced slow moving traffic on the highway. The slow pace of the bus was irritating compared to the fast speeds that we were used to.
We had taken an optional tour to the town of Versailles. We found ourselves in front of the grandest and most famous chateau in France- the 580 m long Versailles palace. From 1682 to 1789, this was the seat of political power.
Originally used as a hunting lodge this palace took 49 years to build. The palace was built during the reign of Louis XIV. He ruled as a king from his age of 5 till his death at 77years! He was also called the Sun King and his love for the colour gold is evident all over the place. His great grandson succeeded him as Louis XV who had many mistresses. His grandson Louis XVI who married Marie Antionette from Austria restored the palace. Even Napolean had lived in the Versailles palace. It has now been dedicated as a national museum.
There are several wings and only some of them are open to the public. Though this trip cost 55 Euros each, when we saw the long lines at the ticket counters, we realised that we would have wasted a lot of time waiting if we had attempted to do this on our own!
We first went to the Grand Apartment du Roi(the Kings suites). We saw the astonishing array of Grand Halls, wood panelled corridors, the hot and cold buffet guest rooms, and the kings sumptuous bed chambers. The king would actually sleep in a sitting position so that he would not be vulnerable to attacks from above!
We also went to the Queens living quarters and imagined how Marie Antonette must have lived. No wonder her attitude towards the peasants was ‘if they don’t have bread let them have cake’. If the king would wish to sleep with his wife in her chambers then this fact had to be announced in advance!
But the room that can really take your breath away is the Gallerie des Glaces (Hall of Mirrors). The king wanted to feel the presence of the sunlight throughout the day and what better way than to have mirrors that can reflect the light in all directions. This 75 metre long ballroom has 17 huge mirrors, along with golden statues and chandeliers.
While the aristocracy built huge monuments to show off their wealth, the common man was continuously ignored. This frustration led to the 1789 Revolution during which the mobs had massacred the palace guards, dragged King Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette to Paris and publicly beheaded them.
When we came out we realised that the Schonberg summer palace that impressed us in Austria was just a copy of the much grander Versailles palace. Even the landscaped gardens with its symmetrical canals, pools, hedges looked similar. We also walked past the 2 outbuildings the Grand Trianon and the Petit Trianon.
We spent some time wandering around the royal place. In modern times, Indian steel tycoon Laxmi Mittal had hired part of the Versailles Palace for his daughter’s wedding …imagine how extravagant some Indians can be!
So what place made you smile today?
Be thankful for the places that make you smile!
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