Category: France

“… you wonder why they did not rebel before.”

The title is a quote from Mariella Cantando, a friend of ours, on a post Kim made on Facebook about a visit to Versailles we did a few days ago. I had the same thought as Mariella while visiting, the lifestyle of the King and his entourage was so different from the public at large you had to wonder why they did not rebel sooner.

The origins of Versailles reminded me of the origin of Hearst Castle in San Simeon, California, William Randolph Hearst (WRH) build his castle at a favorite family camping site, Versailles got its start as a lodge built by Louis XIII at his favorite hunting ground. Both were expanded upon to the impressive locations we see today, the biggest difference being that WRH built his in just under 3 decades while Versailles was a multi-generational effort. Louis XIV greatly expanded Versailles making it a palace and moving his court and government to Versailles, making the palace essentially the capital of France. To support the palace the area around it greatly expanded as well. One interesting thing I learned on this visit is that there were public sections of the grounds, it was not exclusively for the royals. It was possible to see the King and leave notes for him.

Kings after Louis XIV also favored the palace, mostly focusing on the palace’s interiors, but a few new builds such as the palace theater were built with construction taking a long time due to wars and funding issues. The Revolution swept the royal family from power and with it Versailles was looted. Some items that were too big to take or not as valuable broken up survived but for the most part the little furniture you see in the palace is reproductions based on paintings or descriptions in text. Like Hearst Castle, Versailles is now a museum, although a much larger and more interesting one.  We arrived as the grounds were opening and our guide took us to the gardens first saying the crowds usually go inside first so lets see the grounds while they are empty. He was right, we had a great visit with 17K steps involved. I will let the picture speak from here, there are many of them…

The morning line at Versailles Palace.
The group waiting in the 0930 line.
The South Parterre
Daybreak Fountain
Looking down towards the Grand Canal
Looking back at the Palace
Colonnade Grove
Colonnade Grove
The Ballroom
The Ballroom
Bacchus Fountain
Water show at the Mirror Pool
Apollo’s Bath Grove
Palace from the Grand Canal
Grand Salon
The Royal Chapel
Kings Bedroom
Queens Bedroom
Louis XIV
Hall of Mirrors
The Consecration of the Emperor Napoleon
The Consecration of the Emperor Napoleon
Grand Trianon
Grand Trianon
Walking thru thru the French Garden
Bedchamber of the Queen of the Belgians in the Grand Trianon
Queen's Hamlet
Queens Hamlet
Queens Hamlet
Queens Hamlet
Temple of Love

L’Empire de la Mort

One of the places I have wanted to visit for quite a while is the Catacombes of Paris, it has always intrigued me. Determined to visit I found Kim not as enthusiastic as I so with her permission I was off for a tour during our usual afternoon walking time.

The catacombs have limited access and a timed entry so I made sure to give myself extra time in case things went off the rails. Luckily the journey from our apartment was smooth and with some extra time on my hands, I decided to stroll thru Cimetière du Montparnasse, the second largest cemetery in Paris. I have visited the more famous Cimetière du Père-Lachaise several times and welcomed the opportunity to stop by Montparnasse. There are famous people currently residing here including Jean-Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir,  Jacques Chirac, Urbain Le Verrier, Susan Sontag, and Alfred Dreyfus. Quite a variety from arts, sciences, and politics.

The Catacombes of Paris have quite an interesting history, they started off as quarries far from the city supplying the limestone for Paris buildings. As the quarries were depleted they were abandoned and forgotten. When the city grew to cover these previously mined places building collapses caused by cave-ins became frequent and inspection Générale des Carrières (Inspection of Mines) service was created to investigate and solve this issue.

Around the same time, the number of bodies buried in Paris was becoming a concern, there were so many bodies the cemeteries were collapsing into the buildings next to them, and health and food contamination were a constant issue. It was decided to move bodies from the cemeteries to the quarries. The tunnels were consecrated and the bodies were moved in solemn nightly services. At first, the bodies were set in a more haphazard fashion, later it was decided to organize them in a more pleasing fashion making this mausoleum a more pleasant place to visit. As it became more well-known the demand grew and the city started opening them to daily visits. The number of visitors is limited to 200 at a time. It is not an easy place to go you are required to navigate two spiral staircases (131 steps down, 112 steps up), the ceiling is short and the passages are long, sometimes dark, and always damp. Over 6 million bodies are down there, for me it was a great visit and I recommend it for the brave.

Inside Cimetière du Montparnasse
Grave of Jean-Paul Sartre & Simone de Beauvoir.
Grave of Jacques Chirac
Grave of Susan Sontag
Grave of Jean Seberg
Inside Cimetière du Montparnasse
Inside Cimetière du Montparnasse
Grave of Urbain Le Verrier who. predicted the existence and position of Neptune using only mathematics.
Grave of Alfred Dreyfus
Start of the 131 steps down.
Passage to the Catacombs
Passage to the Catacombs Passage to the Catacombs
Entrance to the Catacombs
Entrance to the Catacombs Entrance to the Catacombs
This group greets you as you enter.
Not all was organized
Better stacking
An interesting pattern.
Some of the bodies had markers for where they came from.
Halls of bones

Pillar of bones

Just before you ascend out of the catacombs there is a tunnel looking up and I thought “A view to heaven.” Turns out the other end is in a gift shop… So it that part of the meaning of life? At the other end is a gift shop.