Exploring Versailles with Fuji Acros 100
You can catch up on the previous blogs in this series with the links below:
I’d booked my Eurostar back to London for the evening, so I had an entire day left to visit another of Paris and France’s iconic locations – Versailles. Similar to Berlin & Potsdam it sits a little away from the centre of the city but is easily reached with the commuter trains. During this trip I’d taken along five rolls of Ilford Delta 100 and a backup roll of Fuji Acros 100 just in case I shot slightly more film than I was expecting. Low and behold that did indeed happen not helped by my camera short-changing me by needlessly finishing rolls at thirty-two or thirty-three shots instead of thirty-six or thirty-seven. This was resolved after I came home with a recharge of the batteries, even though the camera never said it was on low battery. Something else important I learned on this trip. The first few photos were taken on the end of my last roll of Ilford Delta 100 and are indicated as such. The rest on my single roll of Fuji Acros 100.
My day at Versailles didn’t get off to the best start. Once again the faulty French ticketing machines meant I couldn’t get through the barriers, though after some confusion this was remedied by a visit to the ticket office on the other side of the tracks. Then when I arrived it transpired that the lockers that has been advertised online were no longer in operation and I was left to carry my heavy rucksack all day along with my camera bag. Slightly comical and I was very tired the day after, but I didn’t have any other options. Bear that in mind when you plan a trip to Versailles, perhaps it’s best not to go on a travel day.
Tickets are booked for entry at a specific point in time to the palace itself, so I decided to head into the vast gardens first to admire the splendid fountains that they are famous for. Versailles and its estates are massive and it’s even more mind boggling when you think that it is smaller than its original size before the French Revolution. However, unlike Louis XIV I wouldn’t be enjoying views of the fountains as most were either turned off or, as was the case for the Apollo Fountain, not even there, having been taken away in 2022 for restoration. Once again in preparation for the millions of visitors coming to Paris for the Olympics this summer no doubt. Because of that the gardens were an overwhelming disappointment and having had this follow my previous problems it felt like my day was really souring. The layout of the gardens is interesting, but without the centre pieces at full functionality it felt like I was wandering around a big load of nothing.
Thankfully my experience inside the palace changed all that. Somehow, I didn’t have anyone challenge me on walking around with my big rucksack and once you are inside you have plenty of time to wander around at your leisure. It wasn’t like Sanssouci where you are relentlessly pushed through by staff with barely enough time to listen to your audio guide. An audio guide is also available here as an extra €5 rental and there are plenty of free maps on hand to help you work your way around.
The level of opulence is stunning, far beyond even that of Buckingham Palace or Windsor Castle. I was starting to understand why people had been so keen to overthrow the monarchy during the French Revolution. I don’t even want to think about the amount of money spent here. Though given the power and lang lasting reign of Louis XIV it’s not hard to see why he wanted to build up a palace fitting of his divine rule. Ceiling paints, gildings, beautiful marble columns and flooring, and that’s just the chapel! The rest of the interior is equally gorgeous with more ceiling paintings, exquisite four-poster beds and grand staircases certainly fit for a monarch. The pièce de résistance is surely the Hall of Mirrors, the palace’s most famous room that is nothing short of breath-taking. Unfortunately, this also made it the most crowded room in the palace and people were jostling everywhere in order to take photos.
My first wide shot was ruined as someone bumped into me just as I pressed the shutter but thankfully the second one came out well. I learned when putting this blog together that it was actually in this room that a unified Germany was proclaimed after victory in the Franco-Prussian war. Something I imagine the French are quite keen to downplay and forget, I don’t remember it being mentioned. My favourite room though is the largest in the palace – The Gallery of Battles. This was not actually built by Louis XIV but by a later king, Louis Philippe I, and covers the history of France in more than thirty paintings from the earliest days after the fall of Rome to the great conquests of Napoleon. A fitting tribute to a great nation.
As I mentioned before the estate of Versailles is vast and beyond the palace and gardens lies the Grand Canal and the Estate of Trianon. I did rush over to the latter to have a quick look, but it was nothing more than a quick look and I saw relatively little. Versailles is definitely one I need to come back to as I would like to see the fountains in all their glory and I’m sure walking around the extended grounds on a lazy summer’s day would be a very enjoyable experience.
And so my time in Paris came to an end, soon after I took the train back to Gare du Nord to hop back on the Eurostar under the sea (sadly they still haven’t converted the tunnel to an aquarium one yet). I certainly packed a lot into a few days, and I was really happy with what I managed to capture with just a few rolls of film. I had just the right amount to shoot with for my more conservative style. I know some would have rattled through at least double the amount of rolls I did, but I find by shooting carefully I can still capture the story of my trips as well as having the time to simply enjoy being there in the moment. I hope you’ve enjoyed reading this series of blogs, there will certainly be more content on my trips in 2023 to come.
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