Sunday 30 May 1999. We have been inside the Palace of Versailles following a soaking from Paris's greatest ever storm up to that date. We missed half of the upper floor and all of the ground floor rooms as time was moving on and we wanted at least a glimpse of the gardens. Probably you would need at least two days to see Versailles properly.
By now the sun was out and we came out of the house and started wringing out what bits we could. It was when we came to find our tickets for the gardens that we realised just how wet the inside of Fran's bag had got.
We presented the limp rag that was two card tickets irretrievably stick together to the very smart attendant, who was wearing a formal suit. Strangely he declined to take hold of it and waved us through to walk into the grounds. This is a couple of hours after the storm had finished and the gravel of the pathways would have dismayed anyone whose feet were not already making squelchy noises... My trainers did not dry out for a couple of days.
Quite apart from the water features the garden furniture and the formal layout of the gardens is wonderful. They were designed by Le Nôtre for Louis XIV not only for their own beauty but to enhance the architecture of the palace itself. The Parterres to north and south and particularly the Water Parterre, two wide ponds designed to reflect the palace as seen from the garden.
Le Nôtre's Grand Perspective. It commences with the Water Parterre then down the steps to the Fountain of Latona. Then down the slope to the Royal Avenue to the Fountain of Apollo before merging with the Grand Canal which is 1650 metres long. The Fountain of Latona tells a story from Ovid's Metamorphoses. Latona, Apollo's mother, having been ridiculed by the Lycian peasants, turns to Jupiter seeking vengeance. Jupiter turns the peasants into frogs. "Dammit!" he said to Mars afterwards, "I wanted them to choke - not croak!"
The fountains only flow for limited time, accompanied by classical music. As we skirted the Fountain of Latona, the water died. The gardens were extensive and our time was rapidly running out. It was also lunchtime and we had been told this was our only chance to buy anything to eat, so reluctantly we decided to leave the rest of the gardens for another visit (well, we can hope!) and we will move on to have a quick look at the exterior of the palace - and the scorch mark - just as soon as you click the relevant links...
Looking back up the slopes and steps towards the palace.
"Oy! Keep moving! No you can't have a lick of my ice cream..."
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