Fontainebleau

Hello from the popular "hunting lodge" of French royalty - Fontainebleau. We met some more friends from Tucson today (John and Linda, who had a car), and drove the 60 miles or so to Fontainebleau. We spent about 3-4 hours touring the chateau, and later the grounds. And finished off with a nice lunch nearby. The weather was overcast, but mild. The Chateau is MUCH less crowded than its famous cousin Versailles, which made for very nice wandering in and outside the chateau. Fontainebleau is also not nearly so overwhelming as Versailles - it seems to be less ornate and fancy. There were some sections that were in need of repair, and others that were very nice - but no Hall of Mirrors. Towards the end of the tour inside, we saw some exquisite tapestries and fabrics on beds, chairs, etc. These last rooms were the sitting rooms and working areas of Marie Antoinette (who, while the room was made for her, never got the chance to use it), or Napoleon and Josephine - pretty impressive.

Outside, the grounds were very nice, but once again not the same magnitude as Versailles. All, in all, I did like Fontainebleau equally as well just because it was so empty and calm seeing it. I could have spent more time on the grounds, as we only covered a small part of the gardens. But what we saw was great. Also, it was nice to escape Paris for the day and visit with friends again. So far, in the 3 weeks here, we've seen 3 sets of visitors, but John and Linda are the last on the schedule. So we are on our own now! The following are some shots from the chateau... Notice how empty in the long hall of Francios 1. Napoleon's throne room, ceiling shot and the library.