Due to the lousy weather, the planned lunch picnic by the Danube River was moved indoor to a lounge in Haus Döbling. It was great fun nonetheless!
Wahaha… look at how dark I am now after 4 weeks of travelling! Anyways, looking forward to our shopping trip this Thursday! :)
As for now, presenting to you, Versailles, where one could find the largest palace and the finest fairy-tale gardens in the world; the very place from which Louis XIV ruled France by absolutism for 72 years:
There was some maintenance work at the palace when we got there, so the façade of the palace looked quite ugly
For all the glory of France. The palace was the official residence of the Kings of France from 1682 until 1790.
La Chapelle Royale (the Royal Chapel)
The chapel was used for the monarchs’ daily mass
A statue of Jeanne d’Arc (Joan of Arc), a national heroine of France
The foyer of the Opéra. Lully’s Persée inaugurated the Opéra on 16 May 1770 in celebration of the marriage of the future Louis XVI with Marie Antoinette.
It was here that Marie Antoinette broke court tradition by clapping for the performers
The ornate decor above the curtain of the Opera is actually made of papier-mâché. Cool, eh?
A peek at the Garden of Versailles from the château
La Galerie des Glaces (the Hall of Mirrors)!
This is the place where the Treaty of Versailles was signed on 28 June 1919, putting an end to World War I
The delicate, detailed decor of the palace is full of optical illusions. The above is one such example. You think it’s made of gold? Think again.
Le Chambre du Roi (The King’s Bedchamber)
“L’État, c’est moi” – meet Le Roi Soleil, Louis XIV
La Galerie des Batailles
A bust of Jean de la Fontaine, the most famous French fabulist whose works are still studied by generations of French students even now
Moving on to the gardens, but not without a warning…
The view captured by the following photographs, I would say, wouldn’t do justice to the sheer size of the Gardens of Versailles. Its numerous fountains, statues and well-maintained formal gardens are so spellbinding they’d make you gaze and gape in awe for hours.
Parterre du Midi, Jardins de Versailles
Fleur-de-Lys, the emblem of the French monarchy
The gardens host many, many fountains. It took so much water to run all the fountains in Versailles that they only turned them on when the King went by!
Bassin de Latone (Fountain of Latona), with the massive Grand Canal at the distance. Even farther into the distance lie the dense woods of Louis XIV’s hunting grounds.
Les Grandes Eaux Musicales
Min Dan & me
Click here for more photos of Versailles -it’s too beautiful to describe!
Posted by Apret on Wednesday, May 9, 2007 at 17:08 2007
Parisss!! (ini entry yg ditunggu2, tentang Versailles, hihi)
Nes entar di Vienna anterin ke Mango Outlet yah XD
Kapan2 minta tips buat France, mau kesana bulan Juni abis balik dr Greece ;).
Posted by Nesnesnes on Friday, May 11, 2007 at 23:10 2007
Ayu: Bole2, aku alamat ngeborong lagi ni, pdhl kmrn baru dari sana huehehe… June bakal sibuk travelling ya Yu? I can’t believe it’s less than 2 months before we have to leave Europe *pulls hair*
Posted by Apret on Saturday, May 12, 2007 at 1:34 2007
Haduh iya nih, sedih ninggalin europe, udah terlanjur PW =(.
Kalo ninggalin singapur si ngga sedih, soalnya tau bakalan balik lagi someday =(.
Kalo ninggalin europe, ga tau lagi kapan datengnya.
Btw pasti anda berbahagia sekali di France, hahaha. Nyengirnya ga ilang2 XD.
Pics nya bagus2 banget ;).
Posted by sainte Marie on Tuesday, September 30, 2008 at 4:30 2008
merci à toi opour les img :)
Posted by nesnesnes on Sunday, October 19, 2008 at 17:23 2008
sainte Marie: de rien!