Royal Whimsy and Street Food

In the late 1600s, the crowds, politics, and intrigue of court life in Paris made Louis XIV miserable. Because he was absolute monarch and absolutely wealthy, he bought a huge chunk of land in the country and built Versailles. Didn’t he realize that the court, all those people he detested, would have to follow him? How else could the government and administration of the nation get done? So there he was in his chosen, gorgeous palace, still swamped by crowds.

His solution was to build Le Grand Trianon where he could entertain chosen guests and house a few family members or friends. It is beautiful (see pix with pillars).

When Louis XV took over, he built the Petit Trianon for his mistress, Mme Pompadour, who died before it was completed. Mme du Barry was pleased to take over for her, both with Louis and with the Petit Trianon.

Then Louis XVI, at age 20, became king and turned both Trianons over to his queen, Marie Antoinette, 19. She reigned absolute there, deciding who could and could not visit. Even Louis had to ask permission, which may explain why, after five years of marriage there were still no children. A few years later, after her brother taught Louis how to make babies, Marie had three. This new entertainment apparently helped their relationship blossom.

Marie hated court life where she was always on display and always the object of gossip and backbiting. Frivolous and extravagant, proud and capricious, she was disdained by the court. Homesick for Austria, she convinced Louis to build her an Austrian country village called the Hamlet. It is charming, like a little child’s grown-up play place where she enjoyed pretending to be “normal.”

Swans float on the pond and nest on its banks. It’s easy to picture groups of elegant ladies dressed in their country-style frocks strolling the paths, picking bouquets of fresh flowers to brighten up the pseudo-rustic rooms of their humble homes.

It was a long morning for Mary and me, and we had become overwhelmed by the oppressive luxury of these royals. We were also hungry, hot and tired. I was relieved to see a snack stand selling baked potatoes with your choice of sauce. My choice was cucumber/yogurt sauce and the combo was divine. One of my favorite meals in France, truly. Mary didn’t like hers but she had chosen a different sauce. I even took a picture so you’ll know who to buy yours from when you go.

I was sifting through my memory of various meals in France, doing an informal survey to choose which were my favorites. Street Food won out over all the others. When my daughter who married Vivek, an East Indian, entertains, Vivek makes Indian Street Food, or chaat (sp?). It’s a variety of things ordinary people eat, and it’s wonderful. Same with French Street Food. These baked potatoes are high on the list of favorite SF, followed by the Panini in Nancy, the brochette Provencal in Paris (tomatoes, onions, cheese, lardons (a bit like bacon), on bread, all toasted until wonderfully hot and melty), lemon tarts and ice cream.

The shuttle picked us up and headed to the next stop, the Grand Canal. We almost didn’t get off, we were so bushed, but thank goodness we didn’t give in to laziness. I think we spent about three peaceful, happy, restorative hours strolling or sitting on the banks watching the boats, the family groups, and the swans.

You can see the swans nesting on the boating dock. It’s blocked off by only a ribbon across the path, but that’s all it takes. No-one bothers them! That amazed us. I’ll bet you, too, have watched children chasing fowl, scaring them to make them fly away. Not here.

Versailles is enormous in scope and concept. Other monarchs came, saw, and copied, including Stanislas, whom we “met” in Nancy. What a change in spirit was our excursion to Giverny, the country home of Claude Monet and his family. I can’t keep from smiling, just thinking about it. I’ll share it next time.