A Year at the Chateau: As seen on the hit Channel 4 show

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This was originally a chapel. It was rebuilt beginning in 1712 under the supervision of the First Architect of the King, Robert de Cotte, to showcase two paintings by Paolo Veronese, Eleazar and Rebecca and Meal at the House of Simon the Pharisee, which was a gift to Louis XIV from the Republic of Venice in 1664. The painting on the ceiling, The Apotheosis of Hercules, by François Lemoyne, was completed in 1736, and gave the room its name. [155] [156] The Salon of Abundance [ edit ] When a group of retired or semi-retired friends mostly in their fifties decide they are fed up with city life, they have the idea of buying a big country house and living together. After not quite finding what they are looking for in Britain, they buy a chateau in Normandy and head off excitedly to begin their new life. Well as you can imagine whenever a large group start to live together, however friendly they have been, it's not quite la vie en rose. Problems arise almost immediately and it's not all wine and roses. The Palace of Versailles ( / v ɛər ˈ s aɪ, v ɜːr ˈ s aɪ/ vair- SY, vur- SY; [1] French: Château de Versailles [ʃɑto d(ə) vɛʁsɑj] ⓘ) is a former royal residence commissioned by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, about 19 kilometers (12mi) west of Paris, France. The first of the subsidiary structures of the Palace of Versailles was the Versailles Menagerie [ fr], [199] [200] built by Le Vau between the years 1662 and 1664, [200] at the southern end of the Grand Canal. [199] The apartments, overlooking the pens, [46] [201] were renovated by Mansart from 1698 to 1700, [200] but the Menagerie fell into disuse in 1712. [199] [d] After a long period of decay, it was demolished in 1801. [200] The Versailles Orangery, just to the south of the palace, [203] was first built by Le Vau in 1663, [204] originally as part of the general moving of earth to create the Estate. [191] It was also modified by Mansart, who, from 1681 to 1685, totally rebuilt it and doubled its size. [205] Palace and Park of Versailles". UNESCO World Heritage Centre. United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization . Retrieved 9 October 2021.

Ayers, Andrew (2004). The Architecture of Paris: An Architectural Guide. Edition Axel Menges. ISBN 9783930698967. It didn't take me all that long to get into this story. As soon as I started reading, I knew that this was one book, which would prove extremely difficult to put to one side for any length of time and so it proved to be. Whilst reading this book I became totally wrapped up in the lives and stories of the people, who were all moving to the country. I had an inkling of how the story was going to develop and of course I had to keep reading to see if I was going to be proved right or not. My need to know what happened in the story meant that I read this book in under 48 hours, which is pretty good going for me. Usually I have the attention span of a gnat and I am easily distracted but not in this case. For the duration of the story, I was able to shut out all other distractions and focus solely on this book. The palace was largely completed by the death of Louis XIV in 1715. The eastern facing palace has a U-shaped layout, with the corps de logis and symmetrical advancing secondary wings terminating with the Dufour Pavilion on the south and the Gabriel Pavilion to the north, creating an expansive cour d'honneur known as the Royal Court (Cour Royale). Flanking the Royal Court are two enormous asymmetrical wings that result in a façade of 402 metres (1,319ft) in length. [134] Covered by around a million square feet (10 hectares) of roof, the palace has 2,143 windows, 1,252 chimneys, and 67 staircases. [135]Louis Philippe and his sons pose before the gates of Versailles, by Horace Vernet History Gallery, (1846) The Ambassadors' Staircase [ fr] ( Escalier des Ambassadeurs) was an imperial staircase built from 1674 to 1680 by d'Orbay. Until Louis XV had it demolished in 1752 to create a courtyard for his private apartments, [144] the staircase was the primary entrance into the Palace of Versailles and the royal apartments especially. [145] It was entered from the courtyard via a vestibule that, cramped and dark, contrasted greatly with the tall, open space of the staircase – famously lit naturally with a skylight – so as to overawe visitors. [146] [147] The Estate". en.chateauversailles.fr. Public Establishment of the Palace, Museum and National Estate of Versailles. 2 September 2016 . Retrieved 30 June 2021. Nicola and Dominic are fed up with there life and want to retire to enjoy the finer things in life. A Year in the Château is a heart warming, light hearted, fun read that kept me entertained, I enjoyed the lil twists and turns, It had me giggling and wondering what was going to happen next!

Unfortunately a very predictable, anticlimactic ending. Not worth the long drawn-out hours of reading. The Petit Trianon, whose construction from 1762 to 1768 [212] led to the advent of the names "Grand" and "Petit Trianon", [213] was constructed for Louis XV and the Madame du Barry in the Neoclassical style by Gabriel. [214] [215] The building has a piano nobile, basement, and attic, [212] with five windows on each floor. [213] On becoming king, Louis XVI gave the Petit Trianon to Marie Antoinette, who remodeled it, relaid its gardens in the then-current English and Oriental styles, [213] [216] [217] and formed her own court there. [217] I have mixed feelings about this book. I loved the first season of Escape to the Château but don't think this book adds much to it. If you've seen the tv show, you've probably seen enough. While there are certain insights that are interesting (such as expat life in France) but too much is devoted to describing wedding preparations and gushing about how "special" their life is (seriously, three times in one paragraph!). That being said I was fascinated and had everyone I know watching this couple renovate what was essentially a fairytale castle in my mind.In 1978, parts of the palace were heavily damaged in a bombing committed by Breton terrorists. [127]