Paris Trip - Day 5: "Versailles"

Before we left Disneyland the kids and Jenny (okay...me too) all wanted to ride a few more rides, so we spent an hour or two in the park in the morning. Then on our way out we saw our friends the McGaugh family (who was also going to Paris during spring break, but in the reverse order.) They were just checking in while we were checking out. Pretty funny. So we left and drove toward Paris, and on the way we stopped at Versailles. The palace was amazing. The rooms inside were lavishly decorated with gold plated paneling, chandeliers, and painted walls and ceilings. Then we also walked around the gardens outside and looked at all the statues and greenery. I found the palace fascinating. You may or may not know, but the palace was originally built as a hunting lodge for the royal family (King Louis XIV). As the palace grew in size the royal family eventually moved there permanently until the revolution began in 1789 and the family was forced to move back to Paris. In later years, the palace was where the historic "Treaty of Versailles" was signed (in the Hall of Mirrors,) which of course was the official peace treaty that ended World War I and redesigned the borders of western Europe. You can read all about it here. Then finally we hopped back in the car and drove to our hotel in Paris. We stayed at Citadines, which is a apartment/hotel chain. It was a nice hotel, with plenty of room for the 4 of us. The location we were at was right across the street from the Seine river, and within walking distance of Notre Dame. Great location. Anyway, the day was packed with activities but the effort was well worth it, and the kids did great keeping up with us. They were of course exhausted at the end of the day, but they never complained. They thought everything we saw at Versailles was pretty cool.












"The Chapel"




One of the murals on the ceiling.





"The Hall Of Mirrors" (where the Treaty of Versailles was signed)





A painting of Napolean in the room where the Kings were crowned.