In-between my Paris travels, I had a chance to visit Versailles.
Versailles is one of those places that you will never really get over. It's breathtaking. Before I got the opportunity to travel to Versailles, I was actually was in the middle of learning about it in my history class. We were learning about Marie Antoinette, the beginning of the French Revolution, and all the Louises (is that right pluralization for "Louis"?). So, let's take a second and recap some good-ass history.
My Version of a History Lesson on Le Château de Versailles
Essentially, the only thing you really need to know to be a smart-ass when it comes to Versailles is: Louis XIV built Versailles, Louis XV enjoyed it and Louis XVI paid for it. For those who are Roman numeral…show more content… Don't worry though, his father set up a regency council to rule for him, until he would be old enough to take over. Louis XIV ruled France for over 72 years. One of the most notable things Louis is known for is shifting the central power of government from Paris to Versailles. Versailles at that time was just a hunting lodge, but Louis would spend much of his time there, thus decided to build into a château and shift court to Versailles. Thus, the Château de Versailles was formed. Shifting the power was not just a personal choice, but also a smart political move as he was able to eliminate feudalism and pacify aristocracy. Louis hired many painters, gardeners, architects, and theorists to create his palace. He is responsible for the design, countless statues, massive gardens, and the famous Hall of Mirrors. Louis spent his whole life building the royal château to what it is today. He was quiet the badass, plus my favourite…show more content… So there must have been a gazillion rooms in the palace, which were called salons. Each salon was named after the ancient Roman deity, and yup, you guessed it, Louis XIV's room was Apollo. All the rooms, as I said before, were a world of their own. Each room did not only represent the king and France, but the Greek Gods and Goddesses. He also had his architects, put French history into each room. For example, in some of the rooms on the ceiling you would have a mural of a goddess looking over a victorious French war or something. Everything in the rooms had a purpose. They all told a