My sister Carla came to visit this weekend. I surprised her by taking her to the Legion of Honor Museum in San Francisco to see the Marie Antoinette and the Petit Trianon at Versailles exhibit. It was wonderful. The Petit Trianon was a chateau - Marie Antoniette's personal retreat from life at court. Here, she was able to express her tastes and fashionable style. She is best known for her extravagence and excesses, for being stylish, and for dying on the guillotine.
After recently watching the movie Marie Antoinette by Sofia Coppola, I was more curious than ever to learn about this famous queen of France. I remember little of her from my history classes in school. Although I do remember the famous saying "let them eat cake." From our visit to the museum, I learned that she actually did not say that. Brought up as an Archduchess, she knew much better than to say anything like that.
I loved the movie, but I wish it could have shown much more about her life during the revolution right up to her death. At the exhibit, I tried to imagine being at the Petit Trianon during the time of Marie Antoniette. Looking at the furniture and artwork in the chateau, and pictures of her botanical gardens and winding paths made me wish I was actually there, exploring the grounds- taking everything in. It was a wonderful experience, something I am glad to have shared with my sister.
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