I'm sometimes glad that history recognizes many world leaders who were immature, spoiled, and even borderline mentally ill. Without them we wouldn't have Versailles, a grand monument to French absolutism, aka one man's low self-esteem. And, of course, his pretty wife who liked to play dress-up.

The palace is situated in a random little town that has nothing else to its name- I guess if anything has "just" Versailles to its name it is doing pretty well. I was pretty surprised by its greco-roman architecture; I still can't get over my inward hope that each castle I visit will look like Hogwarts. Just about everything is gilded, including the entire front gate. The Sun King didn't hold back.

The inside is a maze of overly-ornate (and very baroque) rooms, halls and even a chapel. I can understand what the bedrooms, the chapel, and even the Hall of Mirrors were used for; but what the heck did they do with the rest of the place? Anna's audio guide described one offensively decadent hall as used for "passing through" (??!). Convenient for a museum, but I just cannot see people leading any sort of productive life in this place. Perhaps because it can hardly be said that they did.

There was a beautiful view of the extensive gardens from the chateau, although we didn't get a chance to walk around in them. I like it better wen you can get the whole effect from a higher point anyways. After the tour of the palace, we made set off in search of la Domaine de Marie Antoinette (exactly what it sounds like). We walked through farmland for about a half hour when we stumbled upon a few thatched roofs in a field. There were chickens, rabbits, an obscene amount of fish in the pond, goats, cows, you name it. It was a beautiful little scene, but for me it was a little eerie knowing that Marie Antoinette had this place built so she could play farm and peasant or something. She was bored, and needed a distraction. Again, convenient for a museum; but for real life...?

If you are looking for evidence of real life, you won't find it anywhere near Versailles.