a day strolling the Gardens of Versailles

So this is long overdue since I went to Versailles the first Saturday of October, but I wanted to post some of my favorite pictures of the day. I didn't have the full day to spend since I had to watch G that night, but to be honest, trying to do Versailles in one day is kind of insane. I spent a few hours just wandering around the gardens taking photos with my fancy new camera. I didn't even go inside the palace or to Marie Antoinette's hamlet, which is the little village she had built on the grounds. Sometime this winter I plan to go back and do the palace and in the spring when it's warmer and everything is in bloom again, I'll finally go visit the hamlet and the Petite Trianon (both of which I'm dying to see). I will probably rent a bike next time, and even take a boat ride on the Grand Canal.

The gardens are more extensive than I realized, and although I stayed for probably 3 hours, I still didn't see all of it. Keep in mind, I spent a lot of time taking pictures and just enjoying the beauty of it all. It really is an incredibly beautiful place, and I had a gorgeous day to explore. Below are some of my favorite shots.

The Grand Canal in the distance. It's hard to tell from here, but it's a long way off and goes a long way down.

The Latona Fountain and a peak of the palace in the background. The giant circular mirror in the background is pretty cool because you can get pictures of yourself with the sites in the background. I have one further down.

The beautiful Apollo Fountain with the Grand Canal in the background.

The other side of the Apollo Fountain with the palace in the distance.

The musical fountains. They run the fountains every so often with a musical show. It was really pretty.

Around the South Parterre. My favorite palace views.

Pictures of the Orangerie from the South Parterre.

South Parterre

Palace selfie thanks to the giant curved mirrors. :)

I'll be posting a lot more photos on Facebook here soon. Just for fun, if you are curious to know exactly how extensive the grounds are at Versailles, enjoy this link of a map of the entire Versailles estate!