Versailles Palace

well i thought the Palace was tres bien! It was a pity that they were renevating the hall of mirrors, but still what a magnificent building! There was, i felt an overload of Baroque decoration in some parts of the palace but that was just my taste. The only thing i would say to potential visitors is that be sure you know which entrance you're supposed to be using, i was standing in line for what felt like a lifetime with the French all pushing past me ( they have no concept of queing!!) Iwould definitely reccomen a visit, but be sure to go in Summer, the palace and the gardens are definitely at thier best then. Enjoy!! p.s the town is definitely worth a visit ...

The more I learn about him, the less I like Louis XIV. Arrogant, autocratic, egotistical, capricious, vain. Of course, all despots are a bit that way inclined. It's an occupational hazard, but that doesn't make it any more appealing. One of the few arguments for hereditary monarchy is that if you're going to have a despot it's better to have one born into the role rather than one who has clawed his way up the slippery pole, since almost by definition the self-made despot is going to display all the characteristics you'd least like to see in the job. With hereditary monarchs, luck of the draw comes into the equation and there's a chance they'll turn out ...

As I stepped off the coach the heavens opened and rain began to cascade from the sky. I was experiencing my first Parisian rain and, far from being, the imagined romantic drifting soft dew I would have expected from the precipitation of such a fine city, the water poured down like a monsoon. I trudged my way to the Palace's courtyard, followed at a more sedate pace by the members of the Newdigate Women's Institute. (Although not a member myself, not qualifying by some 40 years, the offer to join them in Paris at only £75 for two nights including travel had been irresistible). Our guide disappeared into the frighteningly large queue outside ...