The Tour de France has returned to it’s native soil after it’s brief interlude in England and what better way is there to celebrate than to download a few pictures of the grand old dame of Europe herself? With me in them!
The photo to the left has historical significance far beyond the insular world of professional cycling and it is quite appropriate given that the centenary of the assassination of the Archduke of Austria, an event which led to the First World War being fought, has just passed. In fact the Tour’s Sixth stage which was run overnight traversed what was basically the frontline for much of the Great War from Arras to Reims. Hundreds of thousands of men from many nations died along that line 100 years ago and it is fitting we remember them and their sacrifice. Lest we forget.
16 kilometres after the start of last night’s stage the race passed through the village of Bapaume which is in spitting distance of Grevillers where my own Great Uncle is interred so the road to Reims had some significance for me. I had travelled some of those very roads myself nine months ago.
The photo above was taken at the Palace of Versailles, the home of the Sun Kings of France and a place where very many treaties have been signed over the years, most notably the treaty which officially ended the Great War. Unfortunately the Treaty of Versailles weighed on Germany so heavily that many of it’s clauses have been cited by historians as having been aggravating factors causing the Second World War. I think it’s fair to say in the light of such judgement that the victorious powers should have been more magnanimous in victory.
The Sun Kings spared no coin when it came to building their Palace at Versailles and the ornate gardens and interiors are kept as they were during the reign of the French sovereigns and one can still gasp and admire the beauty of the grounds as they were laid out centuries ago.
Unfortunately France starved as the monarchs lived high on the hog and such ostentatious displays of wealth and grandeur in the face of perceived injustice and bad leadership led to the French Revolution and eventual disintegration of monarchical government in France. But the Sun King’s legacy remains at Versailles and is now a major tourist attraction just outside of Paris.
My final photo is of myself at the opulant golden gates of the Palace of Versailles. Having never seen such ornate workmanship in Australian architecture it is quite amazing to see gates of gold wrought so magnificently in what is truly a royal palace befitting it’s name. No wonder the proletariat in the 18th century sent the King to the guillotine!
Of course my trip to Versailles was just a small part of my trip through the French countryside and as the Tour de France has two more weeks to run I may well delve into my drove of Gallic images again and share some more with you as Le Tour runs it’s course.
Have a nice day.
Strange Notations From a Laborious Life 