If you ask any child what place they dream of visiting, they would most likely say Disneyland; however, in my case, it was actually Versailles (although Disneyland was also on the list of course, because who wouldn't want to go to Disneyland?). Anyway, my dream came true on the 9th October 2014, when I decided to take my mum along with me on the trip when she came to visit me in Paris.

The journey there took us about an hour, but it was lovely because we got to see the outskirts of Paris and the difference in architecture as well as getting a glimpse of the banlieues. Once we reached the station, we followed the tourists that were also making their way to the palace, until we finally reached the beautiful golden gates. The grandeur of the place made my heart swell; I couldn't believe I was actually there, about to enter the former home of Marie-Antoinette! I absolutely adore the history of the place and of all the famous royals that once upon a time lived here. I completely immerse myself in the history of the French Monarchy and of the life of Louis XVI and his wife, whose reign brought it to an end.

Stepping inside the palace, I automatically felt myself go back in time as I pictured glamorous ball gowns swaying around me and dancing in front of the King and Queen. If the walls could only talk! To think that I was standing in what was once the centre of France's political power, was unbelievable.

The central gallery of the Château is its Hall of Mirrors (La Grande Galerie or La Galerie des Glaces in French) built during King Louis XIV's third building campaign in 1677-1684.

The chandeliers that decorate the hall are so beautiful, I literally took like 100 pictures of them. The paintings on the ceiling are dedicated to the political policies and military victories of Louis XIV. You could really see that Louis XIV is obviously the key figure in them, as they all highlight his power and success.


Going to the Petit Trianon and seeing the place where Marie Antoinette liked to take time away from the busy lifestyle of the French court, was surreal; seeing her bed was slightly strange, because 1) I couldn't believe she had actually slept there, and 2) because it was far too small! I was telling my mum that I didn't think that was her real bed, but after one of the room guards heard me, he actually confirmed to me that Marie-Antoinette actually did sleep there, but she merely slept sitting down! I was like "Oh, well that makes sense!" But it still seems strange to me.

And just when I thought I had seen it all, we stepped outside and onto the gardens. My goodness, were the gardens beautiful. Below is a picture of them, but it's one of those situations where you have to be there to truly feel the amplitude of the place.


Just seeing the lake itself and the stretch of it, was enough to take my breath away. And just so we could make our mark in the place, mum and I decided to row in the lake. It was bloody amazing! A duck was following my mum and I along our 30-minute trip which was adorable and I felt sorry for him because he was obviously hungry and we didn't have anything to give him. We had a sandwich inside the palace in the Angelina restaurant, but we didn't really leave anything of it because it was delicious! But anyway, enough of that. After we got out of the rowing boat, and having learnt how to row by my mum, we started making our way towards the Queens Hamlet.

To say that my mum and I walked a lot, is an understatement. We were knackered by the end of the day; our feet were killing, I had blisters and my legs ached so bad I honestly thought they were going to fall off.

However, the highlight of the trip had to have been Marie Antoinette's Estate (once we reached it, because it was buried deep in the gardens) - The Queen's Hamlet. The place seriously set butterflies to flying in my stomach because it was just too beautiful! It looked like I was inside a fairytale; I never wanted to leave!




I mean isn't it just mind-blowing? Lucky Marie-Antoinette, seriously. (I kind of take that back, considering how she died.)

Mum and I spent the whole day there and we honestly didn't want to leave because the whole scenery was beautiful it made us want to just live there forever. However, once we knew we had to leave, we thought our wish was going to come true, as we couldn't find the way out! We tried looking on the map, but then I am useless at reading maps so that was a bust. There was nobody on the roads, and the gardens were almost forest-like that we felt trapped inside it. Eventually, we reached the palace, but we were the only ones around!

We looked everywhere, but there was not a soul in sight. It was after several minutes of wandering about, that we finally saw a security guard across the grounds of the Grand Trianon.We ended up heading towards him and asking him if he could let us out, which he did. sadly.


And there I am walking to our exit!

[100happydays, Day 4]