follow the sun

It's that time of year in the north when one can feel the sun heating up the ol' bones again. The Parisian cafés are enjoying the outside tables filled with baskers. Inadvertently, the blog is also following the sun. Well, The Sun King at least, moving from his one home to the next. The last blogging I did had a few shot of the Louvre, his city house, so to speak. Later in his days Louis XIV moved out to his country spot, the old hunting lodge that he transformed into what is today the Château of Versailles. A few weekends ago we decided to take in some of the Palace of Versailles. Surprisingly, all the rooms are black at the bottom though, maybe that's just from peeping over the top of the Japanese tourist ;)

The hall of mirrors, that faces the enormous gardens, has just been renovated, it is very beautiful, but an absolute nightmare for photographers... you try meter in that place.

Apart from his modest homes, Louis did his fair share in encouraging all of today's tourists. The much photographed Les Invalides was built during his reign to house the officers and soldiers of his army. Today one can find the tomb of Napoleon Bonaparte beneath the characteristic gold dome. I'm sure if I were more knowledgable there would be a whole lot of other reasons I could blame all the tourists on Louis.

The second floor is the hall of mirrors. It actually used be open, but was closed in at some stage... quite useful since that's the queen bedroom of on that side, and the king's out of picture on this side, would have been a chilly visit in winters prior to the hall of mirrors.

The ornate hall, sun streaming in the windows on the right, mirrors shouting back on the left.

A rare moment where only a single tourist is in view. The mirrors are the real thing, a bit like good beer that isn't clear and a red that throws a sediment, these mercury backed mirrors are a little smoky.

The original hunting lodge portion that was expanded to make the château.

You have probably noticed that I'm no historian, but it is quite incredible being able to enjoy these magnificent buildings, and to marvel at the circumstances under which they were created.
Perhaps I should do some more following up on The Sun King, or at least the sun. In the meantime I wish you a modest little country 'house'.