In my dear gorgeous Versailles ; there are many places other than the castle. The city needs to be seen more, my kind of town, actually did lived there for 9+ glorious years! Very nice family memories. I found me older pictures in my cd rom vault that again should be in my blog for you and me, Therefore, here is my take again on the Grand Trianon of Versailles, part VII !!! Hope you enjoy the post as I
The Galerie de Cotelle or Cotelle gallery was done in 1687.Located in the north wing featuring 11 windows, with 5 connected to the Garden lounge. It was ordered 24 paintings illustrating the groves and fountains of the gardens of Versailles. 21 of these paintings are of the painter Jean Cotelle portraitist and miniaturist of king Louis XIV attached to it Salon of Jardins. The room is 52 meters long and 7 meters wide. It communicates with the so-called Trianon-sous-Bois wing. It was built to serve as a reception room. Under the Empire, it housed a collection of model boats; under Louis-Philippe, a collection of bronze and art objects. As in the past, this gallery is now and then used for official receptions. So it is quite often closed to the public.
We move a more recent historical room, Bureau du Général de Gaulle, or his office. apartements of the Presidency in the wing of the Trianon sous Bois. In the extreme north of the Grand Trianon, you find this room ,redone since 1962 ,and not well known to the public. It was redone after Napoleon III left it; and given to the chief of State. It was used for receptions and welcome of dignataries visiting France. This events were terminated by Jacques Chirac that from March 29 1999 returned it to the castle to show as museum piece to the public.
Completely furnished in Empire style, the wing of Trianon-sous-Bois becomes a private place, a living and work space, devolved to the President of the French Republic, while its foreign counterparts reside in the opposite wing of the building. The receptions take place in the great salons of Trianon and in the Cotelle gallery. The national furniture replaced all the furniture and accessories as they were in 1966 in the seven rooms on the ground floor: a waiting fair, a bailiff show, the two offices of camp aid , the office of General de Gaulle, the family fair and the dining room. If the room with the two tailor-made beds (due to the large size of the general) has not been reconstructed, the kitchens of the basement can be visited. This is where the menus of gala dinners were developed during official receptions. Again that the foreign secret services came to test the dishes before they were served to the heads of state! The layout is as such: Ground floor (1st fl US) This is the most official part of the apartment. A long gallery serves seven pieces. The waiting salon adjoins the Bailiff room. Two camp aid offices precede the general’s office, in which a small bathroom is located. Following this room are more intimate living spaces: the family living room and the dining room. It is there that General de Gaulle takes his meals, served by an opening from the kitchens installed in the basement. The First floor (2nd fl US) This is the private domain of the General and his wife. As on the ground floor, the pieces, furnished in Louis XVI style, in a more intimate spirit, are served by a gallery. The presidential couple’s apartment includes a large living room, an office, a small adjoining office intended for Madame de Gaulle. The general also has a bedroom, where a bed covered with Aix canvas has been placed (after being adapted to the large size of its user), as well as a very luxurious bathroom Ivory wrist ash and wrist taps. Other apartments are available to the president’s family. The bathrooms occupy the blind pieces located between the salons and the corridors, The Basement with an ultra modern cuisine, for the 1960s, was also created in the basements of the Trianon-sous-Bois wing on 800 m2 divided between kitchen, office and dining rooms for staff. Equipped with hotel and industrial equipment, these spaces allow the preparation of meals that can accommodate up to two hundred guests. The design of the kitchen has been designed to simplify and rationalize the work of the teams working there: storage, preparation, cooking, dressage for cold and hot, pantry, places devoted to pastry, In the service of drinking and coffee, diving … everything is nearby and each location has specific use. In the center of the kitchen, a large piano surmounted by aspiring hoods in cast iron and stainless steel is equipped with the necessary cooking equipment (ovens, burners, salamanders, etc.). Two large pots are planned for large preparations. We install a mixer for pastry, large refrigerators and freezers, or a device to automatically make ice cream in cube, capable of producing thirty-five kilos of ice cubes.
The story goes that in 1963, at the initiative of André Malraux, General de Gaulle decided to fully restore and furnished the Grand Trianon so as to transform it into a presidential residence. Important modernization operations were thus carried out from January 1963 to June 1966 to be able to welcome foreign heads of state on an official visit, and house them in a framework worthy of the greatness of France. Leonid Brezhnev in 1971, Queen Elisabeth II in 1972, King Hassan II of Morocco in 1976, in 1969, the American president Richard Nixon; In 1972, In the Summit of the G7 from June 4 to 7, 1982, it hosteds American president Ronald Reagan, British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and their Japanese, Canadian, Italian and German counterparts, In 1992, the president of Russia Boris Yeltsin , or even more recently XI Jinping, the President of China on the occasion of his official visit to France in 2014.
The Château de Versailles on the Grand Trianon: http://en.chateauversailles.fr/discover/estate/estate-trianon/grand-trianon
The Versailles tourist office on the Grand Trianon: https://en.versailles-tourisme.com/the-grand-trianon.html
There you go folks, one of the must to see in Versailles and worth it. Another masterpiece of my belle France, and hope you have the time to see it while at this huge property that is the Domaine de Versailles. Again, hope you enjoy this post on the Grand Trianon of Versailles, part VII !!! as I.
And remember, happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all !!!
Paris1972-Versailles2003 