French Folly, Rustic Charm

As quaint and charming as these buildings are there is something about this "village" that troubled me. I have visited this place twice and enjoyed every minute but it was also quite unsettling. It was built as a folly for Marie Antoinette, none of the buildings are properly functional and it was designed to give the queen a sense of living a rustic life like her subjects but looking back it just highlights the gulf that really existed between the aristocracy and the "common people".

That being said there's a real quality to the setting and it's really photogenic and I hope you agree these are lovely shots...

For Her Majesty's Pleasure

A field, a pond and a shoal of greedy fish. All of these scenes are what Marie Antoinette would have looked upon on a daily basis as she explored her domaine.

I like the contrast of the miniature sunflowers interspersed with the barley and the tranquility of the view across the lake which is in stark contrast to the frenzy of the fish in the final picture as we were feeding them scraps of bread left over from lunch.