SPLENDOUR OF VERSAILLES
When I reach the Hall of Mirrors, I’m on my own, the first visitor of the day. The morning light enters through the high arched windows, and is reflected in the mirrors opposite. Seventy-three metres of parquet flooring stretch out in front of me, and chandeliers sparkle in the vaulted ceiling above.
In the days of Louis XIV, the god-like Sun King, the hall was filled with courtiers and illuminated by some 20,000 candles in crystal chandeliers and enormous gilded candelabra. Most visitors would hardly notice, but two
