I am currently reading
Abundance: A Novel of Marie Antoinette by Sena Jeter Naslund. In a nutshell, Marie Antoinette (the daughter of an Austrian Empress) at age 14 leaves her home and family to move to France and marry Louis XVI the future King of France and live at Versailles. They reign until the French revolution when they are forced to abandon one of the most ostentatious compounds ever created...
Can you imagine what life was like living in this palace? Well, in early 2012 you will be able to!
If you are looking for the "Royal" treatment, check out the "Hotel de l'Orangerie". Originally built as "The Hotel du Grand Controle" in the 1680's to house the king’s treasurer and his family and abandoned during the French Revolution, it has since fallen into disrepair. Versailles does not have the money to renovate it, so a private company Ivy International will renovate the mansion and turn its 23 bedrooms into a luxury hotel.
The name stems from the fact that this building overlooks Versailles' "Orangerie", the greenhouse where Louis XIV stored his 1,700 orange and palm trees throughout the winter months. It is set to reopen in January 2012. Rumor has it when the hotel officially opens, guests will be given champagne and access to stroll the famous gardens of Versailles, which haven’t been strolled in some 300 years. Swoon.
To read more about the Versailles hotel project, visit NPR to read "
Versailles Takes On a New Role: Luxury Hotel".
And some Living Livelier inspiration....
Becky and Deb
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