Gods and Kings and Mothers, oh my!

During the past week I spent a lot of time with gods, kings and my mother. Despite having swollen feet after her flight to Paris, my mother was a good sport, massaged her legs, and made her way with me to many of the amazing attractions Paris has to offer.

Versaille, a former hunting lodge turned into a palace by Louis XIV, is immense. First, think of your own home. Now, imagine a “home” with 700 rooms, 2,153 windows, 352 chimneys and a garden with 200,000 trees and 50 fountains. Louis XIV - the Sun King surely saw himself as being on par with the Greek and Roman gods, and so dedicated rooms (or salons as the French like to say) to the likes of Venus, Mars, Mercury, Hercules, Diana and Apollo. The Hall of Mirrors, three quarters the length of a foot ball field, is quite opulent, whereas the King’s bedroom was pretty basic in comparison. The Queen’s bedroom (yes, they had separate bedrooms as they had their own servants) was a nice pad overlooking the gardens – and the site where in 1789 the mobs invaded and returned to Paris with Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette (and presumably their children, though you don’t hear much about them.) [Photo fo Marie Antoinette's bedroom.]

My mother’s experience at Versaille was the opposite of Marie Antoinette’s. She was quite unsettled when we arrived as it was raining and we had to wait in line with thousands of pushy tourists poking us with their wet umbrellas. Eventually, we made our way through the palace and out to the gardens where it was cold and windy. After some fresh air, a little walk and a nice lunch, my mother was quite happy to return to Paris. Of course, she was not going to prison to be tried for treason.

The Louvre – yeaaah, not at the top of my mother’s list. It’s hard to see a lot of the top attractions because there are so many people. Each hour, there are more visitors to the Louvre than the population of my mom’s town of Gold Bar, Washington. Despite the craziness, she did get up close and personal with the Venus de Milo and La Giaconda (a.k.a. Mona Lisa) and we had a chance to visit the Apollo gallery which houses, for example, the coronation crown of Louis XV. Mon dieu it’s a crowded place. Time to go.

Paris is a difficult city for us mere mortals to absorb in a short time. It can be overwhelming as there is so much to see and do. As host/tour-guide, it’s tough to find a balance between seeing those things that make Paris such a cultural and historical center while simultaneously allowing a guest to simply experience the esprit de la ville - the spirit of the city. So, I gave my mother the Lonely Planet and the DK Eyewitness travel guides and asked her to check out Montmartre. She finally discovered a place that she was excited about. From gods and kings in the early part of the week, we were about to shift our focus towards real people (mont martre, the mountain of martyrs) and artists. My mother was excited and looking forward to her final full day in Paris. Thank you Apollo.