July 18th

Saturday was our last day in Paris. We were free until 2 pm, but I just stayed in the hotel and worked on some homework. At 2, we all met to catch a bus out to Fontainebleau. I have no idea how long the bus ride was because I fell asleep. . . I can’t seem to stay awake on any form up transportation except the airplane. But anyway, when we got there, it was amazing. I had never realized how large Fontainebleau actually was. It is arranged in a similar U layout of Versailles, with a symmetrical staircase right in the front that comes out in a half circle from each side. There is a long walkway leading up to the front entrance that is lined with potted trees on each side. Although it wasn’t completely symmetrical on the sides of the U shape, I think that Fontainebleau looked a lot more cohesive that Versailles. I felt like the sides of Versailles looked like a bunch of different buildings, whereas Fontainebleau looks like different parts of the same building. Fontainebleau was a predecessor of Versailles, serving as a home for the royal family. In all, over 30 royals, from Louis VI to Napoleon III spent time there. The inside of the building was gorgeous. There were aspects of many different styles, due to so many renovations by different rulers, but it still came together really well. One of the coolest features was the fireplaces. Almost all of the rooms had a fireplace, and many of them were elaborately decorated. Some had decorative mirrors or sculptures above them. Also, the chandeliers throughout the different rooms were incredible. While some were quite large, most of them were a fairly modest size and there was usually more than 1 in a room. The chapel inside of the palace is also incredibly beautiful. We also got to see one of the most famous rooms, the library. The public is not allowed to walk through it, but the front of it is open so you can see into the entire room. Standing at the front of it, it seems like such a long room. Books fill the walls on both sides, and near the viewing point, in the middle of the room is a massive globe. Also, we got to see the throne of Napoleon, which is the only surviving original throne in France. It’s obviously in the Napoleon style, draped in blue and yellow fabric covered with little wasps (Napoleon’s signature image), and a large N at the top of the canopy. Most of the building had fallen into bad shape during the Revolution, but Napoleon Bonaparte restored it so that he could live there instead of at Versailles, which had been kept in better shape throughout the war. Fontainebleau is arranged around a series of courtyards, so we sort of walked through those as well. We didn’t walk through them as extensively as the gardens at Versailles, but we did go through the one in the back. They had a little sorbet stand set up in the back that Darrin said was really good, so we got some sorbet and ate it on the edge of the pond. I didn’t think the sorbet was really that great, but the setting was nice!
From there, we got back on the bus and headed to Vaux le Vicomte. On the way, we stopped at a grocery store to pick up food for a picnic for dinner, because we were supposed to stay at Vaux until midnight. A bunch of us shopped together, and got stuff for sandwiches, fruit, chips. . .stuff like that. When we got to Vaux we went into the picnic area, which seemed like camping. Vaux is basically set in the forest, and the picnic area is just the little clearing off the side of the parking lot where benches and tables are set up. We made our dinners, and it was so nice to just eat normal food instead of restaurant food. We took about an hour for dinner, and then we headed into Vaux. Vaux is the palace that Nicolas Fouquet lived in until Louis XIV had him arrested and sentenced to life in prison. It’s much smaller than Fontainebleau or Versailles, but in all honesty I like it the best. It’s just one straight building rather than being in a U layout. Vaux is also going through restoration, and half of the roof has been restored so far. We were at Vaux so late in the day because we were doing a candlelight tour. So there were candles lit on all of the window seals and all around the building, inside and out. It was so extraordinary. It made you feel like you were actually walking through the house in the 17th century. It was so much better than doing a normal tour. Also, they had figures set up in scenes throughout the house. They used projection screens to make them appear to have facial movement, and speakers with conversations coming through. It was really interesting. They had scenes of business meetings, Nicolas doing personal work, and even one of a ball happening in one of the rooms. That one was really cool because they just had a few figures up in front and then a projection screen into an archway, making it look like it opened up into another room where people were dancing. The way all of this was presented really brought the house to life. We also got to walk through the dungeon/basement under the building. Written on plaques on the walls was the entire story of Nicolas’ arrest and trial, and some of his life in prison. It was really interesting to be able to read the story as you walked through the dreary part of the building. After the basement, we were able to go into the gardens. Again, they weren’t as extravagant as Versailles, but they were still impressive. The goal was to continue the candlelight tour through the gardens, but it had started raining so they didn’t light the candles. There were still some regular lights though, so we could actually see it rather than just walking through in the dark. The gardens have decoratively cut shrubbery arranged in rectangular areas on each side, with a pond in the middle of the back. On the other side of the pond is a bridge, and a grassy hill continues up from there with a large statue on top. We only went as far as the front of the pond though. It was really pretty to face the house from the pond and see it with all the candles and lights. We didn’t linger in the gardens too long, due to the rain. We headed into the gift shop for a while to pass some time, and then headed back out to the bus around 11:00. Vaux le Vicomte was my favorite of the three, and it was such a good experience to go through in a unique way at night.