Oh my, Versailles!

This week's 'Merican Monday was pretty good. Madame is fluent in English and corrects her kids whenever they make mistakes. Because of this, I've noticed that they're much less eager to speak English when she eats with us on Mondays. It's funny how, despite cultural differences, some things are universal. Kids get annoyed of their mother correcting them, siblings yell shut-up to each other, and all 13 year old boys mumble when they speak. Although, I'm not entirely convinced about the last one. My host family is always telling Geoffroy to enunciate and not mumble so much, but if you ask the foreigner, it sounds to me like none of them are speaking clearly. We talked about the drinking age in America and the French think that 21 is far too old for a drinking age and that their age of 18 is much more reasonable. I can't argue with that. We also re-visited another popular subject: the difference between American and French schools. I don't think I would enjoy French K-12 schools, as they are strictly academic- no extra-curriculars or sports. For them, school is just a place to learn. When Diane (10) told me about a movie she watched, the family was very confused why I'd asked if she had watched the movie at home or at school. They couldn't believe that even though they're always educational, we actually get to watch movies in school in The States. I explained the whole concept of school dances to the teenagers, Inès and Geoffroy, and they were baffled. I then showed them some pictures from my Senior Prom and they got so excited to see how dressed up and elegant the students get. They also loved the rules about corsages/boutonnieres and how the boy's tuxedo vest matches the girl's dress.

Today's forecast read "Abundant Sunshine." If that isn't the most delightful forecast, I don't know what is. With the abundant sunshine, what better day to go to Versailles with your class? The palace was built by Louis XIV and it is massive. It's about 25 minutes via train outside of Paris. We left around 2:15 and spent a few hours there, which was nowhere near enough time. I really enjoy the extensive history of Versailles. For starters, this guy named Nicolas Fouquet (who was Louis XIV's financial advisor) threw a pretty awesome party at his own personal chateau. Louis XIV got incredibly jealous- how dare someone throw a lavish fête at a more beautiful mansion than his? He did the most logical thing in his King mind and had his own financial minister arrested, tried, and thrown in jail for life just for throwing a killer party. On top of not wanting to be one-upped by Fouquet, King Louis was a little sick of the Louvre and how it was associated with the Valois dynasty. He decided that the Bourbons needed their own palace, and so the work began on a larger, prettier, and more elaborate palace where the French court would eventually reside until the Revolution.

The first thing that one notices when walking up to Versailles is the gilded exterior. Nothing says "I'm the Sun King" like a facade whose extremities and gate are dipped in gold. Once you've entered, you'll soon come across the spectacular Hall of Mirrors. In the 17th century, mirrors were a rarity. What better way to show off your awesomeness than to put 357 of something rare in your hallway? At that time, mirrors were a specialty of Venice, but King Louis wanted his chateau to be French, so he had his people in Paris learn how to make mirrors. Interestingly enough, the place where they were made still produces mirrors today! Also in the palace you will see the King and Queen's respective chambers (I found it very interesting that the King and Queen slept in separate rooms) and the dining room, among other salons.

Check out all that gold!

Me in the Hall of Mirrors

Not to be outdone by the chateau are the gardens of Versailles. The gardens are absolutely magnifique with incredible symmetric qualities. At the time they were built, not very many things were symmetric (streets, houses, etc. didn't follow a specific plan and were usually built haphazardly). The fact that the gardens have distinct shapes was intended to serve as a reminder of the Crown's ability to control everything- even nature. The gardens are nothing short of enormous. Check out the picture below. See that red outline? That's the palace, which was so big that it housed over 3,000 people. Now compare that size to everything surrounding it. Those are the gardens. I wasn't kidding when I said they are enormous. Needless to say, we didn't have enough time to walk around, as they closed at 6pm. My classmates and I agreed that we'd come back on another day that's just as gorgeous as today was so we can fully experience the gardens. Below are more pictures from my day!

Affecteusement,

Katie

P.S. Aunt Jackie, you'll be happy to know that I finally bought myself something. The dress I'm wearing in these pictures was a Paris Purchase :)

P.P.S. I finally fixed my friend Anna's gift to me (her face on a stick) after it broke on my flight here and I brought her to Versailles today. Check out the Anna's Adventures tab to see what silly things she got herself into

University of Michigan- Arts in Paris 2012 group

Gardens!

More Gardens :)