Thank you - it's wonderful to know the history behind this grand place. It's one of those sights I have glimpsed and am now obsessed with visiting in real life. Although I haven't been to Versailles in far too long, so I think that will be my next French state visit!
As some of you may know, the Duchesse de Rochefort and I have been refurbishing (read: building) my family's petit chteau. We have now finally finished phase one of the construction, and as it is looking rather marvellous I thought I would share a few images with you all.
The architecture is loosely based on the late 17th century baroque Chteau de Dampierre, constructed under Louis XIV in the Valle de Chevreuse of le-de-France, close to Paris and Versailles. We kept the Mansard roof and a general feel of the faade but changed the rest considerably, creating it on a far smaller scale than the original.
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Savage%20Keep/240/220/22
And just in case scurrilous rumours begin to surface, that demoiselle was not her Grace the Duchesse!
Here are my FAQs:
What parts of the palace am I allowed into? - Answering this would also be a good chance to bring in some points about history and dress etiquette
(I was once asked by a young demoiselle if I could, ahem, help her 'test out' the dauphine's bed - so it may be a good idea to underline rights of entry and what that entails!!)
Can I rent apartments? - Maybe a polite way to point people to rentals we do have?
Who built this place? -Could be a nice way to point people to the stores of the builders
What are good places to buy 18th century costume/furniture/jewellery? - again, a great way to point people to the stores of builders/designers who support Versailles (e.g. 18th Century Store and Nonna Hedges), as well as the Versailles Marketplace.
Where is this/that bit of the palace? - Maybe worth having a list of the rooms finished/available at that point in time. People sometimes ask about the Opera, chapel etc. and it would be good to have a list of rooms completed. This would also work with the Versailles key.
On a related note, it would be fab to have a map to offer to people to help them navigate.
Where is Paris? (I have been asked this THREE TIMES by THREE different people, can you believe!!!) - maybe worth saying we don't have an 18th century Paris (yet)
Thank you for your well wishes, and I'm thrilled you were able to attend! Hopefully there will be more gatherings in my petite boutique very soon!
Ah I am so glad you are pleased with them - I'm thrilled with the way they turned out, I must confess!
I'm still beavering away at my next couple of releases, so hopefully more will be in world before christmas!
