Palace of Versailles: A Dream Come True

“Be thankful for the hard times they have made for you” – Man in the iron mask.

The three musketeers.... Athos... Porthos... Aramis... Cardinal Richelieu... Ring a bell?? hmmm King Louis XIV? D' Artagnan? if still not familiar.. maybe the movie "Man in the iron mask" may sound familiar...

I can’t help but be nostalgic because almost 10 years ago, way back in college, I made this term paper entitled “The reality behind the man in the iron mask”. I’ve read several novels beforehand pertaining to the era of King Lois XIV. (The Three Musketeers, D’Artagnan,  Man in the iron mask to name a few..) I had this urge to really look into details and see if anything about this was true. I spent most of my hours that time at John Lawrence Detwiler Memorial Library reading history books, digging into the French Royal history. Term paper for me during those time was not a college requirement but a research I love doing.

Versailles was a small village dating from the 11^th century. today, however, it is a wealthy suburb of Paris, some 20 kilometres (12 miles) southwest of the centre of the French capital. Excited was really an understatement the moment I saw the golden gates of the Palace.

“Anything you see that looks like gold, is real gold”

closer look of the "gold" gate. i was actually in que and about to enter the palace when this photo was taken

So when I was standing in front of the palace gate, I literally froze for a moment, astonished.  The gate was colored gold.. and then we were told that anything you see that looks like gold is REAL gold. My jaw dropped. --much lower.

“this is it! I am actually walking in the same pathway King Louis XIV actually stepped on”
i kept telling myself as i walk inside the palace.
My eyes were already big, but it keeps getting bigger and bigger the more I stayed within the vicinity.

The Sun King's room (King Louie XIV)

Then  I saw the Sun King’s room, my jaw dropped much lower, my eyes grew much bigger. They preserved the bed where he actually sleeps.  I was in complete awe. Those things I’m only reading in novels and biographies of royalties, those I can only see in movies and own imagination were actually right in front of me. The palace itself was a magnificent work of art and architecture that my vocabularies were not enough to describe every detail of it. And just as I thought I’ve seen it all….. haha wait until you see the garden!

The palace garden was so beautiful that my photos can't give justice to what it actually looks like in real life.

The Gardens of Versailles (French: Jardins du château de Versailles; occupy part of what was once the Domaine royal de Versailles, the royal demesne of the Chåteau of Versailles. Situated to the west of the palace, the gardens cover some 800 hectares of land, much of which is landscaped in the classic French Garden style perfected here by André Le Nôtre. If only I can spend most of my days sitting, reading, reflecting on life's blessings, I will do it every single day of my life. but sadly, France isn’t some place you can set foot everyday.

Last thing is the hall of mirrors or Galerie des Glace. It is the central gallery of the Palace of Versailles. This hall was well known because of the seventeen mirror-clad arches that reflect the seventeen arcaded windows that overlook the gardens. Each arch contains twenty-one mirrors with a total complement of 357 used in the decoration of the galerie des glaces.

Everything was magnificent, from gate to walkways to gardens and linens and to every detail. If ever you happened to visit France, Palace of Versailles is really a must see. And if you love royal histories like me, this is something worth the visit.