Versailles - The Palace

The Palace of the Sun-King, Château de Versailles was the center of administration during the reign of King Louis XIV. We arrived early in the morning after half an hour's train ride from Paris into the small town of Versailles. The queue into the palace was already long and growing by the minute. Holiday makers from everywhere and of every colours can be seen while lining up.

Versailles chapel, where royal events were celebrated was one of the nicest rooms to occupy the vast compound of Versailles. This was how the King and Queen would have seen the chapel, from the tribune royale, where they heard mass.

The chapel as viewed from the ground floor. The colour scheme, yellow and white, was used extensively throughout the palace. In the other apartments, which can be found through the link above, architects borrowed inspirations from Roman mythologies.

One of the more famous area in the Palace was the Halls of Mirrors where 17 arches are lined up to reflect the light from 17 opposite windows which faces the gardens of Versailles. It had to be made known that during the time of its construction, mirrors were among the most priced item to possess and a rarity in its own class. To have a hall lined up with nearly 350 mirrors showcased the grandeur and extravagance of the Sun King.

The Museum Which Was a Train Station

Musée D'Orsay, or the Museum of Orsay was converted from a train station and houses mostly French artworks and sculptures. The masterpieces on display here are more contemporary and focused as compared to those in the Louvre, which covers a wider area.

The Louvre was converted from a palace/fortress, the Tate Modern from a power plant and Orsay from a train station. Each museums still carries with them the tell tale signs of its previous incarnation, as seen in the Orsay, with its arched ceiling and huge clock face on the main hallway.

This was a unique way of displaying an architectural model of the Opera in Paris, not as space consuming as the rest. Was the transparent floor part of the artist's presentation? The actual reason however remains unknown to me.

Sacre Coeur which sits on top of Montmartre can be clearly seen through the huge clock at the top floor of the museum.

Many Facets of Paris' Attractions

Bicycle rides, open top bus tours are really nice ways to enjoy major cities. We covered a lot of attractions on the bike in London and on the bus in Paris. With the Paris visit pass that we bought, it came with a package where for one certain day, you could get on and off the open rooftop buses at specific stops.

The weather was great and best of all, there was no obstruction between you and the buildings. No glass panes that stops the breeze and no unsightly objects on the screens. We took the bus tour around Notre Dame, through the Latin quarters and towards Montparnasse Tower, which was our destination anyway, if we were to take the subway. We went pass the hotel Les Invalides, however we went forward and did not stop at this spot.

The Pantheon, built with inspiration from her sister in Rome, is now a burial place for various famous French. Victor Hugo's tomb is in the crypt of this building. This is sometimes referred to as the people's temple.

Inside the Pantheon, the columns and domes were decorated with sculptures and paintings, each with their own stories to tell. From the dome, hangs a steel cable holding a steel ball, forming a pendulum which was used to show time. This is called the Foucault pendulum, named after the French physicist who performed this experiment. The pendulum, being free hanging, swings on a certain plane, even as the Earth turns. Each hour was then represented with 11degrees. We compared the time when we entered and the time we left, nearly one hour, and this was presented correctly on the scale shown.

The modern art museum in London, Tate Modern was free to public. I quote the tour guide on the river cruise, 'If you have been there before and had seen modern art, you will know why it is free' ^.^
However that was not the case for the Center Georges Pompidou in Paris. We were not a fan of modern art, but still, the architecture was amazing. It looked like an incomplete structure with exposed pipes and ventilation and support structures. There were many people just sitting on the slope before the center, admiring this bizarre building, which by itself is considered art. Modern art.