Unfinished thoughts on Marie Antoinette's Hamlet and Guatemala

This morning I thought I would write about Marie Antoinette's Hamlet (Hameau in French).  This morning I also continued my reading of Shaun Groves' blog about his trip to Guatemala.   Oddly enough, I can connect the two.

The hameau is very lovely as you can see from the photos.  It is a fairly large village that has several buildings - lighthouse, mill, houses, dairy, and farm related structures.  All of it was built for the queen.  She enjoyed it with her children and courtiers, but it exists because she wanted it.  Keep in mind this entire village sits on the grounds of Versailles along with two other smaller palaces.

The display of wealth is extreme, especially compared to our homes.  As I wandered the hameau I kept thinking to myself, all this for one person...

And then as I read Shaun Groves blog this morning about the poverty of Guatemala, I had to take another look around my home.  The overflowing boxes and all my stuff that I can not find a place for - I'm sure the poor of Guatemala would look at my house and my stuff in the way I looked at the hameau and say to themselves, all this for one person....