Friday, 1 October (cont.). The bus left at 1:45 for our optional tour to Versailles, arriving at 2:30. Versailles was the royal residence of France for more than a century (1682-1789). Louis XIII had built a hunting lodge here in 1624, and Louis XIV transformed it into one of the most extravagant buildings in the world. Further construction on the palace continued long after his death in 1715. Louis XVI was still making improvements when the French government went bankrupt in 1788. The King's efforts to deal with the bankruptcy eventually led to the Revolution.

On 5 October 1789, several weeks after the storming of the Bastille, a mob of angry Parisians descended on Versailles demanding bread. Louis XVI, Marie Antoinette, and their children were taken to Paris as prisoners. The revolutionary government eventually stripped the Palace of its furnishings and sold them.

Napoleon actually began some restoration work, which was continued by Louis XVIII after 1814. In 1837 the Palace became a museum of French history. However, it was not until 1962 that a major effort to restore the rooms to their original design began. The refurbished ground floor apartments were finally opened to the public in 1986.

Jane and I had visited the Palace in 1961 and had been very disappointed in what was then largely an empty, undecorated building. This time we were greatly impressed by the interior. Even some of the original furnishings and paintings have been recovered. The gardens were beautiful as well. I recall that they were impressive in 1961, too.

Our bus left Versailles at 4:50 and followed the Seine into Paris. We got to the hotel at 5:50. Later we had a very good dinner at a nearby restaurant, the Villa St. Jacques. It was probably more Italian than French.