Day trip to Château de Versailles

It is only appropriate that I write this post in gold. We were so fortunate to have a gorgeous, mild autumn day at Château de Versailles on friday. Our program director (aka. infinite-well-of-knowledge- of-french-history professor) Isabelle and the funny Italian character Ivo who's the art professor lead us through the tour of the interior of the palace. Here are some photos of the exterior (the gates must have been freshly painted) and the interior below, (the King's Chapel and the extravagant Hall of Mirrors). This was quite a project during Louis the 14th's reign of France. He was called the sun king, so symbols of light and the sun repeated themselves throughout the ornamentation. We learned some things about the King's daily schedule, his hobbies and talents... I think Isabelle is rather fond of him because we didn't hear any notes on how he spent way too much of France's money. After our tour of the palace we had lunch on our own and then re-meet for the special exhibit of artworks and furniture collected and commissioned by Louis XIV himself! It was a very neat addition to our visit... unfortunately photos were not allowed. Afterwards I walked behind the palace with Jason and Noelle through the enormous (and super clean) gardens. I liked all the uniquely shaped topiaries (there were hardly any of the same shape) It was so peaceful as the sun set. The fountains weren't on but I can't complain because I loved the way the sky was reflecting off the calm water of the ponds.