Happy US Thanksgiving!!!

Thursday, Nov. 26th our family went to the Palace of Versailles in Paris! It was kind of ironic really, to go to a place that was built to satisfy someone's outrageous desires for physical wants (King Louis XIV), and at the expense of the poor people all around him, on the day in the US when we pause and give thanks for the blessings that are ours. .... We enjoyed being together as a family and I am so very grateful for them. 

Here's a clip from the internet:

The Château de Versailles, is one of the most beautiful achievements of 18th-century French art. The site began as Louis XIII’s hunting lodge before his son Louis XIV transformed and expanded it, moving the court and government of France to Versailles in 1682. Each of the three French kings who lived there until the French Revolution added improvements to make it more beautiful.

Statue of Louis XIV

This ceiling took 3 years to paint. It's called, The Apotheosis of Hercules. When the artist finished it, he killed himself! It's an amazing painting, but what a sad story.

Janae, Seth, Tyler listening to the audio guides.

Painting: The Feast in the House of Simon the Pharisee

In the Venus drawing room.

Austin, Seth, Jessica, Joshua

In the Mars drawing room.

The King's chapel

The King's bed - that he never slept in. It was purely for show.

The Apollo drawing room.

War drawing room

The Hall of Mirrors. 27 mirrors across from 27 windows to show off the king's wealth.

The bed that the king did sleep in. Notice the railing in front of it, to show onlookers/observers how close they could get.

Queen's bedroom

Painting: The Army takes an Oath to the Emperor After the Distribution of Eagles, 1804

The next 4 pictures are in the Battles Gallery.

Joan of Arc Entering Orleans

This painting shows the role of the French in helping America achieve it's independence.

With a statue of my ancestor, Charlemange.

Another of my ancestors, Dagobert.

Jessica had heard from a friend that having some Angelina's hot chocolate in Paris was a must. We found it at Versailles. I think it was 6 EU a cup!! Some of us tried some. :) It was super rich and thick. I actually didn't prefer it, it was just too rich.

In the back garden.

The poser, Seth.

The movie maker, Austin.

Heading out into the massive gardens.

One of the many fountains.

In the Petit Trianon, which was built for Marie Antointette.

The next five pictures are of Marie Antoinette's hamlet that she had built a little ways away from the palace, to get away from royal life. She wanted it created in the English style. It is so quaint and picturesque! We loved it. 

Funny, but not funny story: After walking to Marie Antoinette's village we walked around the gardens some more, and then tried to find the Grand Trianon. We came to it from the back of it, but we didn't realize that that was it, and a sign pointed another way, so we kept going. We ended up going out into the garden and then back to where we were! Funny, but not, because we were already really tired from walking all day long!  

The Grand Trianon, which Louis XIV had built to get away from royal life, with his mistress. Hm. Others have continued to use it, including Napoleon Bonaparte. And then in 1963 Charles de Gaulle had it restored as a guesthouse to host French presidents.

Seth & Jess

The entrance to the Palace of Versailles at dusk.

 For our Thanksgiving dinner we found a great crepe place! We had dinner crepes and dessert crepes. MMmMMM. Brooke can't eat dairy products, so when we learned that these crepes have no dairy, she was one happy camper!! She loves Audrey Hepburn, so it was fun to find this portrait of her in the restaurant.

Our waiter was fantastic and funny. He teased Janae when she didn't remember what she had ordered. We asked him to take a picture of us all. He took one, and then said, "Wait, wait." And he got up on a chair to get a better angle! After we had all finished our dinner crepes, he started bringing out the dessert crepes for those whose meals came with them. He noticed that Dave was eating some of mine and so he brought out another one for Dave. Then he brought out a couple more for others who didn't have one. Then he checked with the cook to see if there was a dessert crepe that Brooke could have. There wasn't. The next thing we knew, our waiter left the restaurant. He came back a few minutes later with 2 small oranges, an apple, and a banana, arranged on a plate like a happy face, for Brooke! How cool is that! And he didn't charge us for all of the extra dessert crepes! It was a memorable Thanksgiving Dinner! :)

Brooke's dessert, compliments of our great waiter.