On the train ride home I had time to reflect on the day between laughing with Sam and Alex and worrying about whether or not we’d make the bus back into Louviers. After a couple of minutes of silence, I said it to them, “I hate that I sound so spoiled, but I wasn’t that impressed with Versailles.” Almost immediately after I’d made this announcement I cringed at the thought of what I’d just said. Versailles – the pride of the French monarchy, their stomping grounds for more than a hundred years where royalty from Europe and beyond had been entertained – didn’t do it for me.
Now I could write a couple of paragraphs to explain why it is that I’m not spoiled, but honestly I think it’s better that I just fess up: I am incredibly spoiled. I mean, in the short time that I’ve been here, I’ve probably seen and done more than many could hope to do in a lifetime. But the difference, however, between me and the Veruca Salts and trust fund babies of the world, is the how much I appreciate everything that I’ve been given.
Enough introspection for one post and now onto the explanation of why I said what I did. Now don’t get me wrong, Versailles is magnificent (I’m not sure I’ve ever seen so much gold in one place), and I can’t even fathom what it must have been like to live there. Yet, in spite of its grandiosity I felt that it was neglected. Maybe I pay too much attention to detail, but it was dustier than my room has ever been, the chandeliers looked more like plastic than crystal, and you could only see a small portion of the château. Plus, the fountains were frozen, the statues covered and the plants dead, so I’m sure that brought it down a couple of notches as well. I plan to go back in the spring, when everything is alive again to reform my opinion; after all thanks to my Pass d’Education I have free access to all national monuments and museums for three years ;).
No comments:
Post a Comment