Trail to Versailles

Today was the day to return to the forest trails. Seven weeks after a bad fall while working in the garden, it was finally time. So, out I went from Chaville, into Meudon Forest, along the trail to Versailles, and then back along the old road through the town of Viroflay. What a gorgeous environment and what a privilege to live in the middle of it all!

A few blocks from our front door I found the trail head and started up the hill, through the working forest of mostly deciduous trees. Some substantial cut oak tree trunks lined the path, ready to be hauled to the mill. But, thanks to the selective logging approach used in this forest, the hike still offered the prospect of immersion into nature.

The trail gained a bit of altitude and through the winter forest I had some great views of the valley leading to Versailles. After rounding a low rise, I approached a clearing and there — after doing a double take — I realized were a couple of kids practicing tight rope walking between the trees. And, they were pretty good at it. Not your typical forest activity!

Coming down the trail towards the Versailles city limit, I turned and took the old road through Viroflay. Parts of the road there were already in existence in Roman times. Later on, the road served as the route taken by the royal guards traveling between the Louvre Palace and Versailles. A couple of stretches of cobblestone still provide a hint that the road has been around for a while.

The town of Viroflay has preserved some nice bits of architecture pre-dating the French revolution. The manor of the Lords of Viroflay remains, nowadays serving as a music school. The former city hall and first school building are still there, next to the medieval church and several proper homes from royal times or shortly thereafter.

Before modern transport gave us all access to citrus fruit, the wealthy sometimes built a special structure called an “orangerie”, which is a sort of green house for keeping citrus trees year round. Today, I discovered that the town of Viroflay had installed solar panels on the roof of the local orangerie, proudly displaying the power production on a monitor on the side of the building. They re-purposed the sunlight!

With that, it was time for me to return home. I walked along the rail line back past the recently completed apartment complex for university students (also with solar cells on the roof). The new blends in well with the old. I came home feeling restored, ready to plot a future hike, perhaps going even further into the forest next time.

 A few photos from the hike (use arrows at bottom to scroll)

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Chaville to Versailles: A map