It's Good to be a King...

Well, not just any king! In France, for example, there was Louis XIV and then there was Louis XVI, and these two kings had very different fates. One reigned for 72 years when France was the most powerful--military and economic--nation in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, and built Versailles. The other is known more about the details of his execution and his failed marriage to a certain Austrian princess.

Back to the main story...visiting Versailles makes one dream about being a king, even for a few hours. Louis XIV set the standard of culture for all of Europe, and Versailles, with its Hall of Mirrors, gardens and spectacular fountains, was the crown jewel of that achievement. Although the Chateau was packed with visitors on this gorgeous spring day, for me it was empty. I could see the King walking down the steps toward the grand canal followed by a few of his nobles. Slightly behind to his right there were two foreign guests who were nearly invisible next to the tall, athletic and elegantly dressed Sun King. He was proudly pointing to his guests the rows of orange trees that had been wheeled from the greenhouses just for the purpose of impressing his guests. The air was filled with the aroma of orange blossoms. The melody of music could be heard from groups of musicians playing at each fountain.

Suddenly, this vision was interrupted by a thought that has been nagging me since I arrived at the Chateau. France was--and still is--known for its wines and the kings were known to indulge in fine wines. So, I was trying to visualize the king's Wine Cellar. It had to be something else...