The Gardens of Versailles

The Gardens of Versailles

The Front of the Versailles Palace

To the west of the Palace of Versailles, lies 800 hectares of land that has been cleared, trimmed, trained, artistically designed and lovingly cared for by the gardeners of Versailles. Beginning with principal gardener Andre’ Le Norte, between 1661-1700, the gardens were designed in a French Garden style which is based on symmetry and commanding order on nature.

Aerial view of the Gardens of Versailles
By ToucanWings - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=36855446

If you visit Versailles, please step outside and enjoy this amazing splendor of nature. If you would like, you can rent golf carts to get around the gardens at a quicker pace or you can just wander and walk. The day we visited the Palace and the gardens was a cold day so we opted for the golf cart ride. We also enjoyed the hot chocolate that was sold right by the golf cart rental. It tasted like a chocolate bar had been melted for a drink. Cocoa in hand, and a fabulous way to travel, off we went to explore the gardens.

My husband looks cold but always ready to drive a golf cart.

Bassin Apollo Fountain

I'm sure the water is cold but oh so pretty!

Marie Antoinette's house at Versailles

The Grand Canal

Looking towards the back of the Palace Versailles

I will say my only disappointment was that we visited during the winter. I’m sure spring time would be the perfect time to enjoy the gardens. But with hot cocoa and enjoying being out with nature, who could complain. True beauty!!!! If you haven't seen the movie A Little Chaos I would highly recommend it.

A Little Chaos

A truly beautiful story about the building of the Bosquet De La Salle De Bal at Versailles.

Bosquet De La Salle De Bal

Versailles Palace and Gardens.... Bucket List Checked!

The Palace of Versailles ~ Château de Versailles

From hunting lodge to the museum of history for France, The Palace of Versailles, was my last bucket item to see while having the privilege of living in Europe.

On our trip to Paris, we decided to make the short drive to the city of Versailles, France to visit the famed Palace. I seriously thought the drive was supposed to be about an hour past Paris but as it turned out it was about a 12 mile drive. We were headed there on a Sunday so the traffic was really quiet.

But this was also a short time after the terror attacks in Paris so the city was still on edge and the United Nations were holding Climate Change Conference and all the world leaders were coming to town. Word on the radio was they were shutting down certain highways to clear roads for their arrival. This made for a great day to visit Versailles before heading out of town.

Approaching the golden gates that would take us back to a time when Louis the XIV first hunted there as a boy with his father, to taking up residency when he became King of France, I was a tad giddy.  

King Louis XIII bought the land that was in a country town in France called Versailles. Traveling from Paris, he built a small chateau in 1624, which he used as a hunting lodge.

It was not until Louis XIV (1638-1715) became King that he moved to Versailles from the Louvre in Paris, taking his government to be with him. Known as The Sun King, Louis XIV ruled from 1643-1715. The chateau of Versailles was his finest achievement of his reign.

They say.... Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. I will follow with pictures only the eye can decide if they are worthy of entering your heart. For me, an American Girl in Holland, yes.

The Chapel

In the Hall of Mirrors

Hall of Mirrors

The beauty and opulence was from beginning to end. These are only a few of my pictures I took to share. Next up.... I would step outside into the gardens.

Fam Bam! One Last Visit to Mom and Dad's

Fam Bam

One last visit to Mom and Dad’s

Some of my favorite memories of having the incredible opportunity to live abroad was being able to share it with our family. And luckily for us, this past year each of our girls were able to make time in their schedules to come see Mom and Dad in The Netherlands... one last time.

Spring break our littlest one Amy, came over with her best friend Peyton, plus our Marie and Daniel.

They only had one week and so we decided to go to all the great places close to home. Amy had a list of what she wanted to do. Even though she was raised in Europe, there were a lot of things right in The Netherlands that she didn’t get to do. How was that even possible? Well, she was either in school or just a bored teenager who didn’t want to go. But now she was ready! So off we went to the Kinderdijk, Delft, Amsterdam a hop across the borders to Germany and Belgium. Truly a very quick week but oh so much fun!

It ended with Amy and I taking Peyton to the airport then making the very quick trek to see the tulip fields that were just beginning to bloom.

Then in the fall, our little Sarah came by herself to spend a week with Mom and Dad. First Sarah and I spent the night in Amsterdam staying at the American Hotel, one of my favorites in Amsterdam.

It was fabulous... we took a private canal cruise on a cool crisp fall evening, we went to the Rijksmuseum.

Enjoyed lunch along a canal and went back to the Anne Frank House. Yes, we stood in line for 2 hours but it’s so worth it. Plus there is a brilliant man close by who has a coffee/hot cocoa shop. Then once back in Leende, we toured around Nuenen to see where van Gogh had walked and painted and the stories behind his famous paintings.

Finally it was time to leave for our big trip of the week to the heart of Europe...Switzerland. Famous for banking, watches, chocolate, snowcapped mountains, stunning views, we were headed to Zurich. Flying into the city and then taking a short cab ride to our hotel. We were right in the city and within walking distance to most sights.

We did take a small tour bus the first day just to get our bearings but it dropped us off at the furthest part of the city. This is where we picked up our boat cruise that would take us up and down Lake Zurich.

It was the perfect way to spend a fall afternoon. After our boat cruise, we just walked back to the hotel stopping to shop and dine along the way. We had so much fun!

The next day we walked back to the Central Station and took a train to Lucerne. We had heard how charming it was and truly we were not disappointed.

Again shopping, dining and enjoying a cup of hot cocoa along the ...... life was just perfect as we enjoyed the fall colors and cool breeze. Back to the hotel for an amazing Asian dinner.

Soon little Sarah would have to leave but Marie would be arriving in a few weeks. Cleaning sheets and a quick clean through the house, restock the fridge... we were ready.

Marie and Daniel had taken off 2 weeks from work, knowing this would be their last trip to Mom and Dad’s house in Europe but as everyone hoped, not our last trip ever. The Netherlands for all of us has become so very dear to us and our home away from home.

 In our house everyone teases Marie telling her she’s the idea girl and oh is this true. But it’s also a great thing. Where I like to just go with the flow and figure out things as we go, Marie has an agenda for everyone involved down to the hour and what we should be doing. It’s time here for me to hand the pen over to Marie, because she has decided to start her own blog. It’s called Traveling with the Clouds. I love it!!! So here she is talking about our time together first in Paris and then Berlin. Two amazing trips, planned by her.

Paris

http://travelingwiththeclouds.com/category/paris/

Berlin

http://travelingwiththeclouds.com/category/germany/

So grateful to be able to share this opportunity of seeing the world with my family.