Palaces of France

Closer to Paris is the Chateau Fontainebleau whose Renaissance style renovation was ordered by Francois the 1st. Francois was that cold, hearted spin thrift who refused to ransom his 2 sons being held prisoner by the Spanish and instead wasted exuberant sums on Fontainebleau and on Chambord.

Within the suburban area of Paris is Versailles the most fantastic of all French Chateau. Today, Versailles attracts over 3 million visitors a year, 30,000 worked labored on this magnificent Palace for a number of years because Louis the 14th wanted to move the court away from the intrigues of Paris to Versailles where he could exert more control over his novels, and look around don’t forget the ceilings every square centimeter in this place is opulently decorated.

Taken the grandeur of the Hall of Mirrors where history was made, take your time and don’t be rushed through it’s a marvelous testament to the wealth and splendor of France, during the time of Louis the 14th and beyond, the truly living museum.

The gardens of Versailles were a worthy setting for the most spectacular of all French Palaces. Decorated with numerous statues and fountains and pawns with flower and trees that are artfully planted throughout the spacious grounds and they seem to sweep on forever.

325 yards that’s over 3 football fields long from the Chateau to the Neptune Fountain which is delighted and amazed visitors for over 300 years. Water flows throughout this area especially from the Gilt Statues cascades down the tears of the fountains, some looking like large wedding cakes.

To me the most enchanting spot in Versailles needed the Chateau nor the carefully manicured garden but the Queens hamlet where Marie Antoinette and her hand maidens played dress up of dress down as the case maybe here little girl looks at the goat and seems to indicate that it really smells but it goes right back for another whiff. Marie Antoinette and her hand maidens wore peasants’ clothes and pretended to be common girls. Maybe the romantic make-believe in the midst of Fitch roof cottages with chickens, sheep, goats and cows gave them an illusion of purpose.

The little farm even have a working mill but the whole set-up was primarily designed for beauty and comfort rather than as a working farm it’s reminiscent of the ranches bought by Hollywood Celebrities in the Big Sky Country. I don’t think many of the movie actor’s ride with the herd string Barbed Wire certainly not clean the stables.

The Queens Hamlet was a toy designed for the one woman who according to legend when informed that the hungry peasants had no bread said let them eat cake let and then she literally lost her head.

On the way into Paris are birds of a different feather and well trimmed hedges with faces at it. up the our first goal is to drive into the archery on and not get lost in the maze of the 12 roads that all merge here like a star. Coming out the other side, we wind up at the bottom of Avenue Charles de Gaulle where we encounter this monument to France’s World War 2 leader of the free French.

One of the best ways of getting an overview of Paris is to climb up the 200 steps to the church of Sacre Coeur and then climb up another 234 steps inside of the church itself. Here you are rewarded with the view of the city stretched out below like a 3D map where all the major monuments are easily located. And the street below is the Numark district at one time this was the unrivaled artist colony of Europe. Today in addition to artist, we find Mines and Tour Shops and Sidewalk Cafés.

In Numark, you have to sit next to a member of the French foreign legion called the Accordion Players strolls by and around the square serious artist display their paintings while others will do your portrait in charcoal or pencil or pastel.

From the sidewalk cafes here is everywhere crowd watching is a favorite past time and near by a mime does his best to portray a typical Frenchman with a baguette under his arm. He will bicycle off home to return later as a part of the performance of the Web Wind Mill, the famous Moulin Rouge where Toulouse-Lautrec courted and painted the naughty ladies of the night. Having established where things are to know easy to grab the Metro and head back to the Arc of Triomphe.

This is the Monument Napoleon promised to his soldiers after a victory at Australits. The Arc is the starting point for almost all French celebrations and parades, the vow relief shows Napoleon and other scenes of French history and here’s the tomb of the Unknown Soldier from World War 1.

Now we can stroll down the shop—where sidewalk cafes’ vibe was another front the partridge of the multitude of people passing by. There are all types of restaurants from Fast Food Menus to places where one can order the most exquisite French Cuisine. It’s a long walk to the Place de la Concorde but there are plenty of places to stop, lots of thing to see and convenient ventures every few hundred feet.