Letter From Paris: On Location--At Versailles

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I know...I know...Versailles.  Who really wants to go, right?  Once is enough.  That had been my position. 

But since I've lived in France, I've consumed a lot of French history and was totally compelled by the biography of Marie Antoinette that Antonia Fraser penned (and Sofia Coppola spoiled with her frivolous film, including its miscasting--Kirsten Dunst...please.).  So a few years ago, I wanted to see the guillotined queen's pretend village Hameau de la Reine before it was closed again for renovations, and the Lone Wolf and I made a trip out to Versailles.  We were not disappointed.  One could almost see and feel the aristocratic shepherdesses skipping to and fro along the lake by Antoinette's tiny faux village.

A year and a half ago, the Jeff Koons exhibit at Versailles didn't lure me in, though my friends who went sang its praises.  And I must admit I liked the artistic juxtaposition of Koons' work with the Sun King's milieu that I saw in photos.

Gates into Chateau de Versailles (photo by Beth Arnold)

But this current Versailles exhibit that's finishing in two days caught my attention:

"THE PALACE OF VERSAILLES PRESENTS LOUIS XIV: THE MAN AND THE KING. 20 October 2009 - 7 February 2010 Louis XIV, the Man and the King brings together 300 pieces, some of which have not been shown in France since the 1789 Revolution."

Why?  It was the opportunity to see the pieces that have been out of public view for 300+ years--even though I find it tormenting to get to Versailles from Paris, no matter how one does it.

So I enlisted Bret while she was here, and we hopped on the RER, arriving at the ultimate Chateauville at the crack of, well, a late lunch.  I had envisioned us dining at the charming restaurant in the middle of the grounds by the Grand Canal, watching elegant little old French ladies and men people walking by with their petite fluffy dogs.  But winter hours were short.

Bret had just been to Versailles back in July with her cousin, who was making her first trip to France, and she suggested we choose a restaurant in the strip-mall-looking building across from the train station, rather than one of the tourist places closer to the chateau where the food was mediocre at best.  I thought she had a point.  Pizza (often a bad choice in France)?  Tapas (but everything looked French)?  Or crêpes?

And that is how we lucked into Le Dolmen crêperie.

Le Dolmen Menu (photo by Beth Arnold)

We each ordered the basic galette complète (grated Emmental cheese, a slice of ham, and an egg on a thin buckwheat pancake).  We each took a bite of the steaming hot galette, and Bret crowed that it was the best one she'd ever eaten.  I thought about it--marveled that this could be the case--and agreed with her!

Who would've thought we'd get "the best" anything in the strip-mall-looking building in one of the most touristy towns in France? 

We were delighted with our Versailles lunch, and the exhibition taught us a lot about Louis XIV as a ruler and person as well as the times in which he lived.  Did you know he was quite a dancer?  I particularly loved seeing the paintings that included the Pont Neuf (my favorite Paris bridge) and other scenes in the city, which I regularly walk by.  

Pont Neuf (photo by Beth Arnold)

This photo shows the basic outline of the Pont Neuf and the Ile de la Cité (which is the cradle of Parisian civilization) that Louis XIV, France's Sun King, gazed on in his 17th and 18th Century Paris that eventually became our 21st Century City of Light.  It's funny how much or how little time changes the visions we see.  I wondered that the imposing architectural entrance to the Place Dauphine that Louis passed by when crossing the bridge looked almost identical to my perspective today, even as the city has evolved around it. 

One can almost hear the crowd calling out as the king's coach clatters by.  Le roi!  Le roi!

Le Dolmen

10 avenue du Général de Gaulle 78000

Versailles

Telephone:  +33 (0)1 30 21 78 22

P.S. No one was at Versailles the day we went.  Winter is a great time to beat the crowds.

For the wonderful Marie Antoinette biography, click here.

                                                                ---Beth Arnold in Paris

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