Versailles
Standing just outside of the gilded gates and looking over the vast courtyard of Versailles, the royal château, it’s easy to understand why the populace decided to cast it as the symbol of overindulgence of the royal family. And my God, that’s without seeing the inside!
Inside of Versailles, whatever isn’t covered in gold leaf, is either marble, velvet or tropical wood. Even the curtain hooks were shaped like tiny golden faces. The ceilings were painted with various murals, usually religious, with the royal patrons’ faces making an appearance next to Christ or God.
However, that wasn’t the only art present in the halls of Versailles. Amongst the alcoves filled with sculptures, hallways lined with busts of French figures and the private royal chambers dotted with 3-foot-wide globes and massive writing desks, were modern art presentations.
A glass box packed with vacuum cleaners, an inflatable pool toy shaped like a lobster hanging from the ceiling. Strangely sexual representations of Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck. A giant mylar balloon placed at the end of the Hall of Mirrors. Why this so-called art was allowed is beyond me.
But even the inside, for better or for worse, held little candle to the gardens behind the palace.
When I think of gardens, I imagine a small plot of tilled land with flowers, vegetables maybe even a bulb or two and imagined the Versailles gardens to be more of the same, only larger and with more flowers. What I saw was enough acreage of manicured trees, bushes and flower beds to fill the SDSU campus. As Blaire and I stood at the top tier, the far side was lost in the mist of a chilly January day.
At this point during the trip, surrounded by the former wealth of kings and queens, we grew weary of picture taking, especially me. I grew lackadaisical in my approach until I would order Blaire to stand somewhere and wave at the camera—you’ll find plenty in our photo albums. And even our attempts to get us both in frame with a beautiful backdrop ended after a few feeble attempts and a shrug of the shoulders.
In conclusion, just look at the pictures and ask one of us about it. We’ll talk.
