7 July 2019
Palatial botany
Palais de Versaille / Palace of Versailles - France
On previous trips I have been to the eyefull tower, I have been to the champs a lease a and I have been to the arch of trump. I had not been to the nearby town of verse eye to see the palace and gardens built by King Louis the 49th to store the heads of the various mistresses he claims to have given him STD's. So today, that is where I went.
Getting there was 2 x RER trains and 1 x metro. All of them hot and filthy. Not as hot as late afternoon yesterday, but still damn hot, smelly, and everything was sticky with bodily fluids of humans and dogs alike. You can take your dogs on the trains, into stores, to school with you, to work, into the parliament, wherever you want in France. Anyway I went on a tangent.
The train heads off out of Paris kind of, through a nicer newer part of town, and then ends up in Versailles which is old but clean, and more colorful than Paris. Thats my detailed description. It only takes about 45 minutes, which is just about as much as anyone can bare, they planned it as such when they designed it.
Presumably when it was designed in 1600 they also planned for bus tours, as there is an enormous parking area, and they put the wiring and plumbing in so that when loudspeakers and computer controlled fountains were invented at some point in the future, they could blast everyone with Andre Rieu music at deafening volume while fountains that seem crap compared to a Chinese supermarket car park fountain do not do very much at all. That was a really long sentence.
I did not go inside the actual palace, as you will see, the line experience was immense. Everyone in the line would be cooked by now, and probably still in that line, as I left it seemed no shorter.
The gardens despite the dedication to unimpressive fountains and uninspired music at all times, are quite nice. What they lack in variety they make up for in size.
It is an easy trip, cheap, and there is a lot of shade. The town is really quite nice, even if it is mostly shut on Sundays because, tradition, culture. Actually all supermarkets in France are shut on Sundays. Strange.
The whole place is filled with a million tourists daily, mainly young white girls. I know my pictures will show Chinese people, but American freedom traitor tourists still outnumber them, and females outnumber males about 10 to 1. While I was wandering around the vast gardens early on, quite a few groups of girls saw me coming and turned and went another way, so I did not get to rob anyone today.
That kind of went all over the place, onto the pics.
The station at Versailles. After getting off the train I paid to use a toilet so I could give myself a thorough wash. Also, paying for toilets is a silly choice! I saw big groups of people pissing openly in parks, like in Germany! France are world leaders in culture.
Here is a street in Versailles. The buildings are one level lower than on a Paris street, and other colors are allowed. Actually if I am not mistaken, the Paris ones were originally public housing for poor people, built as cheaply as possible. Basically a prison for the unemployed.
I was not sure if I could get into the gardens this way, but I thought I would walk to the front of the long line and check out the palace through the fence. The line is actually a snake of 3 joined lines, you line up all the way to the entry gate, a few hundred metres up the hill, then the line turns 180 degrees and comes back to this point, then the line takes another 180 and goes back to the entry gate. Stay tuned for more detailed line pics.
The view through the gate. I got yelled at for taking a photo. That happens a lot.
Here is the line looking back down upon the triple 180 degree line experience extravaganza. I knew before coming today that I would not actually go inside the Palace, lines are not my thing, you cant get many steps standing in a line.
Instead I followed these soldiers with real machine guns for a while. When one of them stopped, turned, and stared at me, I decided to change course.
That took me into the gardens at the back of the palace, behold, a garden! VERY bright sun today, combined with a lot of glowing brilliant iris burning white gravel, challenging for photos.
If you look closely at any of the garden areas you will see they are not maintained to Asian park standards. And now that I mention it, I remember I have been to Palace Versailles - Taiwan. Which is a re-creation built by the guy that owns the Chimei fan and power point company.
I cannot fit it all in one shot. Part of the grounds were closed with temporary grand stands erected, probably for an Andre Rieu Bastille day concert (although he is actually Dutch?).
The view down to the grand canal. Tall hedges either side of the main thoroughfare mask / wall off little fountain areas, each with different blaring music.
I wandered over to the other side, where the garden was in a bit better condition.
There was basically no one around over this side.
About 1/3 of the way down the hill.
The hedges are actually trees. There are wooden lattice walls embedded in them painted green to make hedging them more efficient.
About halfway down the hill. The fountains only operate a few times each day. It is really a bit strange.
Fountain time! Perhaps these were the first fountains in the world choreographed to music or something? It is really not much of a spectacle.
I got yelled at by a guard for standing here and taking a photo. I have no idea why.
Another fountain, fountaining.
Some waterfalls.
I had seen enough fountains by now, time to exit. The French have found a new way to make cars annoying. This is a Citroen, and appears to be registered for driving on the road. It seems as though if you have one you are allowed to just park it anywhere. Maybe its how the soldiers get here?
Here is a pointless staircase.
The other side of Versailles, away from the train station, is the busier side. Although like I said, mostly shut on Sundays.
There is however a large market, mainly selling, fruit, flowers, cheese and dead poultry. Pickpockets paradise. My shorts have zip up pockets for an added layer of protection. This area of Versailles is called Notre Dame, maybe they just name everything one of about a dozen names to get a group buying discount on signs. Smart.