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No Wonder the French Revolted: Photos From Our Last Day

We don’t officially leave Paris until tomorrow, but because we need to be at the airport early, Missy and I won’t have any time to partake in tourist activities. So I’m calling today our last day — and we certainly made the most of it.

All week we’ve been looking forward to visiting the palace that Louis XIV built in Versailles. I went there 11 years ago during my last visit, but today’s experience was far more enjoyable. We took full advantage of the sunny 75-degree weather in Paris and spent the better part of the day at the sprawling palace and grounds. The fountains run each Sunday beginning in April, so the excursion was made even more special.

After visiting Versailles, it’s no wonder the French people revolted against Louis XVI and his wife, Marie Antoinette, and later beheaded both of them. Their lavish retreat in the country is like a playground for adults. Louis XIV had the gall to build a second smaller palace on the grounds when the first became too busy; it later became a frequently destination for Louis XV and Louis XVI when they needed to retreat from reality. Marie Antoinette even built her own peasant village so she could feel more at home.

While the royalty was spending lavishly on this beautiful palace in the quiet countryside, the French people were starving in the streets of Paris. Versailles, while extraordinary, represents the monarchy’s triumph and defeat. It was a wonderful place to visit, but also a telling reminder government largess — a massive pork project if there were such a thing in the 16th and 17th centuries.

After returning from Versailles, we spent the rest of the day relaxing and enjoying a nice dinner in the Latin Quarter. It will certainly be sad to leave tomorrow, but we’re looking forward to returning home.

UPDATE — April 29, 8:46 a.m.: My good friend Alex Pesey, who runs the L’Institut de Formation Politique and Tocqueville Fellowship in France, takes issue with my comments (partly made in jest) about Versailles and the French revolution.

After digesting Alex’s comments, two thoughts came to mind:

1) Versailles is absolutely beautiful, and the artwork and architecture there was by far superior to what we saw elsewhere in Paris. I agree with Alex on that point. While not a perfect comparison, we saw this contrast at the Musee d’Orsay with Alexandre Cabanel’s “The Birth of Venus.” It was seen an unrealistic by the more “enlightened” — or elitist — class, who favored works of art in a far different style.

2) Despite its beauty, I stand by my thoughts that Louis XIV, XV and XVI probably went a little overboard in building a palace of such extravagance. Much in the same way we criticize government largess in America today, I could certainly understand why there was anger in 1789. That being said, I don’t know enough about my French history, so I’ll trust Alex on the facts, and therefore, stand corrected for equating what happened in France with what took place in America.