Day 17
Saturday morning came early, but for once this was not a burden because it also came with sunshine!!! Oh radiant sun how long have I awaited the warmth of your rays on my face, and the illuminating light to my soul! Ahhhhh.....
Okay, well, it wasn't quite that warm. There was still a cool breeze, but it was significantly warmer than the nasty wind we've been having and the sky was blue and brilliant and I did not need to wear a coat, and therefore it was a good day. Oh, and we may have had a field trip to one of the most beautiful chateaus in France...yes, a very good day.
So, we met at the BYU apartment and took a coach bus out to visit the Chateau Fontainebleau, which was the residence of many of France's monarchs, including Henri IV, Francois I, Philip II and Louis IX. The oldest part of the chateau dates back to the 12th century when Louis VII lived there, for whom the chapel was consecrated by Thomas Becket. Since then it has undergone many renovations and additions. By the late 18th century the chateau had fallen into disrepair, after the Revolution, but it was transformed under the reign of Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte. Wanting to move away from the Bourbon monarchical connotations of Versailles, Napoleon made the Chateau de Fontainebleau into a symbol of his grandeur. Now, the chateau is home to the only remaining throne room in France, from which Napoleon himself directed affairs. In fact, the entire chateau was a residence for the emperor, and we were able to see his offices, personal chambers, and those of his wife Josephine. There was also a special Napoleon exhibit where we saw some of Napoleon's personal effects, including his clothes--which were quite short. I guess they weren't joking about his height. But he compensated well I think.
So, after about an hour bus ride to Fontainebleau, I went with a group of people and we checked out the grounds first. The gardens were beautiful. A few of us girls got sidetracked along the way though and had a mini fashion shoot--the place was just so picturesque! Due to our dawdling we didn't have time to go too far into the gardens, but we enjoyed ourselves and appreciated the grounds we did see. The gardens are massive, extending over many acres that used to serve as the royal hunting grounds for France's kings and were first created by Francois I in 1528.
After strolling in the sunshine and playing with our cameras, we started heading back towards the chateau--where I ran into a horse-drawn carriage (not literally) and had to take a minor detour to pet them (so fun!). Then Betsy and Paige bought lunch at the chateau's cafe and we ate our food in the sun by the lake in front of the chateau. It was one of the more beautiful things I've done in life. But it gets better...
After finishing lunch (I had packed mine to save a couple euros) we decided we should probably go inside the chateau since we came this far to see it...so we went in and got our audio guides and began walking around. Paige and I got a little turned around at first (we skipped the ball room and one of the chapels accidentally) so we had to go back after we finished, but on the whole the tour was excellent. I have decided that I like Fontainebleau better than Versailles. Gasp! I know that is probably some sort of blasphemy, but I just really liked the style of Fontainebleau better. The Hall of Mirrors in Versailles is obviously fantastic, but on the whole I thought Fontainebleau had a more beautiful style, of both architecture and decor, than Versailles, and I appreciated the longer and, in my opinion, richer, history that is attached to the much older Chateau de Fontainebleau. Having said that, I might mention my two favorite parts of the chateau: 1. The library and 2. The outside staircase
First, the library is a long hallway that houses Napoleon's personal collection (I think they said there were upwards of 60,000 volumes in it). It was beautiful and I was really disappointed that we weren't allowed to go through it (the entrance was blocked off so we could only look down it). It was another "Beauty and the Beast" moment and I felt like Belle when the Beast shows her his library. I think the French would have a problem with giving me the chateau's library though--dang it.
Second, I love love love the double staircase at the main entrance of the chateau. It reminds me of Cinderella (sorry about all the Disney references, but seriously, this place is a fairytale) and I was very excited to play model and have another fashion shoot with my friends on the steps. We spent a good forty minutes or so taking pictures and playing on the stairs. It was just too perfect! Maybe I can commission stairs like that on my house (on a smaller scale of course)...hmm, first step, find a rich prince who can afford a Cinderella staircase....anyone know any princes???
After finishing our tour of Fontainebleau we all hopped back on the bus to return to Paris. Although most people fell asleep, Andrea and I decided to have fun and we enjoyed a sidesplitting conversation that consisted of each of us quoting favorite moments of the Office and then bursting out laughing at our wit and candid appreciation for good comedy. We then arrived in Paris around 5 o'clock and so a group of us decided to go get a Greek pita in the Latin Quarter (recommended by Giles and Sarah who had had one a few days before). I think Giles had a good description when he called it "dirty Greek food" because it was not the most sanitary-looking meal I've had, and it was not what one might call pleasantly ungreasy...but it was tasty enough so I didn't mind. Although there were some creepy guys at a table at the bottom of the stairs who stared at me and Andrea menacingly when we went down to get utensils (there was more dining room upstairs where we ate). I don't know why Europeans think that unabashed staring is a socially acceptable thing...personally I think its awkward, weird, and often rather frightening...I would much prefer sketchy men to stare at me unnoticeably, even if that is perhaps sketchier--at least then I don't have to think about it. Maybe I had something in my teeth? It was pretty dirty Greek food. I'll have to remember to bring some toothpicks with me next time I go out. Problem solved.
After finishing our food we went back out into the narrow street and said goodbye to Giles, Andrea and Sarah, who were going to a football match (which is *ahem* the european term for soccer) while Meridith, Betsy, Paige and I tried to decided what to do next. We were going to go to the Musee d'Orsay because it was the Night of the Museums in Paris (where all the museums are free admission and stay open until about 11:30pm) but it was still a little early, so we meandered a bit through the souvenir shops. As we were standing outside the Greek place though the guy behind the window motioned to Meridith and told her that her eyes were "magnifiques!" The French really like blue eyes.
Anyways, after going through the shops we took the metro to the Musee d'Orsay, one of my favorite museums in Paris, and met up with some other girls who were going. The line was really long but they moved us through fairly quickly considering the amount of people. I think we waited about twenty minutes, but it wasn't bad. Once inside the museum was pretty crowded, obviously, but we were able to see some great exhibits. Since it was so busy we all kind of paired off and went around the museum ourselves and planned to meet back up at 10pm. So Mer and I went through the Van Gogh gallery, and of course we had to see all the Impressionists, including Monet, Manet, Degas, Renoir etc. etc. It was grand. Unfortunately I couldn't find Degas' little ballerina sculpture, but we saw all his paintings of danseuses which were beautiful. It was cool to see all the original paintings of artwork that I've learned about in school, although it was difficult to appreciate everything because it was so crowded. I'll definitely come back with my parents though--Musee d'Orsay is a must-see.
At ten o'clock we all met back up and Meridith and I were burnt out so we decided to head back home. While we waited in the metro we had several minutes before the train was scheduled to arrive so we sat down on the benches. An older drunk guy came and sat down next to us and started talking to Mer. He told her that her eyes were "magnifiques!" (second time in three hours, haha) and then started to speaking to us in a combination of French, Spanish and English...Frespanglish? It was really hard to understand him. He asked us if it rained where we were from, and then started talking about a kitchen...and then asked if we were going to sleep...in the kitchen....hmmm. He was quite drunk--which, if you couldn't tell by his behavior, you only needed to stand in a five foot radius and you could smell the evidence. Yuck. We excused ourselves as quickly as we could and stood farther down the platform to await the train. When it finally did come we were blessed to share a car with a group of lively drunk teenagers--who also smelled lovely and caused the whole car to smell of beer. It was kind of funny to watch the other people on the train react to them though. Sitting behind them were two old ladies and they looked quite disgusted with the bunch of them. One of the boys was flirting with his girlfriend and the old lady was regarding him down her nose with a mix of derision and repulsion. I guess the elderly have a universal code for disliking fraternizing youth. I really can't blame them. Metro PDA is not exactly classy, in my humble foreign opinion...
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