Click photo for larger view. ©2015, David A. Porter

Travel Photo – The Marble Courtyard at the Palace of Versailles in France

I was kicking myself when I saw that I had chopped the flag off in my photograph of the marble courtyard.  In my defense, I was feeling pulled through the space by our Kensington Tours guide.  She had a LOT to show us in the four hours we spent at the palace.  And, believe it or not, in four hours you can’t begin to touch all there is to see.   Plus, I was trying my level best to get a shot with no tourists in view.  But, with the mob scene present at the palace, that simply wasn’t going to happen.

This scene is a little dizzying to look at, isn’t it? :O

I was reading an architectural website where they were estimating that in today’s dollars it cost the French people somewhere between $12 – $300 billion to build this place.  And all of this for a king, his court, his massive staff, and hundred’s of rooms for visitors. The parties held at this place were lavish and legendary.

Why would the French people put up with this extravagance?  Well, ultimately they didn’t.  The French Revolution took care of that.  But before the revolution, the French king was an absolute monarch.  This meant that the French king had absolute power over the state and the people.  He could do whatever he wanted.  And clearly, one of the things he wanted was the best palace in the world.  In fact, many of the other European monarchs, after visiting the Palace of Versailles, went home and built something similar for themselves.  After all, you simply must keep up with the Jones.  Right?

While I have great admiration for the artistry of this place, and the artisans that built it, I too would have been storming the palace with my pitchfork.

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