Hôtel de Ville’s statue of Étienne Marcel, a Paris government official whose life, according to Wikipedia, “came to a sticky end, lynched in 1358 by an angry mob after trying to assert the city’s powers a little too energetically.” Apparently it was the right amount of energy, though, to have a statue erected in his honor.

Corner detail in Versailles.

A gargoyle overlooks Paris from his Norte Dame perch.

Hôtel de Ville at night. Not quite as cool as this one, but whatever.

This was my favorite area in Versailles’ Palace. The whole place spews grandiosity; this part, despite being built with what would likely be considered luxury finishes during the time it was built, is relatively simple and understated. It reminds me of the fantastic foyer and floor in the finished house from the movie The Money Pit.