Violently Happy: Royal Château Versailles

I don't know if you may have heard of this tiny castle called Versailles. A little girl lived there a long time ago and she has been misquoted to have said the greatest phrase ever "Let Them Eat Cake!" We took a tour there and I am overwhelmed by the opulence, the beauty and the history of this place. Words cannot describe the feeling when you see the sun shining on the gold leaf fence, the massive size of what was once just a hunting lodge for the king of France. There is so much more I could have photographed but I was mesmerized by everything. I only took one thousand photos. We were allowed to take photos but no flash permitted so of course every photo I took came out fine with exception to my homegirl Marie-Antoinette's bedroom. It was extremely crowded and dark in there and I couldn't capture the light as I would have liked. I have always found her to be fascinating and the film by Sofia Coppola has only increased my curiosity about her life. Our tour guide was quite knowledgeable so I enjoyed walking around while listening to her give us facts about life at Versailles and the royals who lived there on my headphones. What I find incredible is this palace is so extravagant and such a symbol of French aristocracy but now it is full of mostly American tourists stomping through it en mass with cameras attached to our faces. I would love to return on a less crowded day *the weather couldn't be more perfect today* so I can experience it without a tour guide and walk in the gardens.

I'm still learning how to navigate the city

Lately Olivia likes to be in charge of reading our map.

She is an expert at finding the Eiffel Tower

Waiting for our bus

We drove past some really boring landmarks, kidding!

So epic! I can't believe we walked up the stairs to the top of this guy on our last trip.

I am so happy we chose today to visit Versailles. The sky doesn't look real after a rainstorm and the weather was absolutely perfect.

Our tour guide Sandrine

Where I stand. The very spot where dear Marie lost her head

There were only two thousand royals who inhabited Versailles but up to thirty thousand workers!

Aimee! Look who's back!

Every month there is a new art installation featured here

Darn glare from the sun, I wish I knew how to photograph interiors better

You know, just this mural painted from some dude on Craigslist

Thank you Anthony for sharing this experience with me

It was impossible to capture every detail, the crown molding and artwork brought tears to my eyes

Of course we had to get a gold crown for our Princess

A painting of Marie Leszczyńska *our tour guide called her ugly* she totally had a mustache situation

I thought the beds were small because the people were so short back then but Sandrine told us it's because royals slept sitting up so they do not resemble dead people. You know they just want to keep their wigs on!

I love that her room was the brightest and most stylish

The rooms that featured Marie-Antoinette were the most crowded

Marie's portrait was painted by Louise Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun *funny, my name is Elizabeth Louise*

The Hall of Mirrors

This is without a doubt the most beautiful room I've ever stood in

I was pretty sure some Secret Service agents were going to tackle me for wearing my mask. I guess they dig my creepy bunny.

Almost everything Sandrine told us about the Kings of France, they are insecure, jealous and always wanting what they can't have. Yeah, that sounds about right