If you’ve ever read Trysts of a French Courtesan by Kirsten Lobe you’d be familiar with the Chateau Vaux-Le-Vicomte. Besides being an absolutely hilarious read it also details in spectacular style this stunning Chateau which is where I am on the train to now….that is if I can exit the station when I arrive at Melun, because I’m on the train with no ticket!! Some how my Paris ‘Navigo’ weekly pass let me through all the gates as I transferred from the Metro lines to the RER lines and before I knew it I was on the train to Melun for my much anticipated visit to the Chateau 60 kilometres southeast of Paris. However unlike the metro in Paris where you don’t require a ticket to exit the station, we discovered yesterday in Versailles that with the RER you do require a ticket to exit the station. So I may encounter some challenges when I arrive at my destination, but my adventurous side isn’t too concerned because it makes it more of an adventure that way (and it also appeals to my rebellious side!!). Here’s hoping though that it’s not too painful!!
It’s another Paris Miracle! I was able to just walk right out of the station with no gate to pass through – Phew! I then waited about 15 – 20 minutes for a taxi which happened to be a relatively new Mercedes Benz. Ahhh. . . . this is the life!
Ten minutes later I arrived at the Chateau extremely excited to finally visit it. It’s magnificent but has a rather unfortunate story. It was designed and built as a precursor to Versailles by Le Brun, Le Vau and Le Notre between 1656 and 1661. Unfortunately, Vaux-Le-Vicomte’s beauty turned out to be the undoing of its owner, Louis XIV’s Minister of Finance Nicolas Fouquet. Louis, seething with jealousy that he had been upstaged at the Chateau’s official opening, had Fouquet thrown in prison, where he died in 1680.
The Chateau is everything I expected and more. And next time I’m in Paris and with someone special I will come back and do the Candlelight tour and dinner at the Chateau. It is such a romantic Chateau with lots of little surprises to discover. It is a definite must see.
As I walked along the gardens I could hear the bird song and one bird in particular sounded as if it were singing ‘cuckoo’. I could also hear peacocks cries coming from one of the many adjacent gardens.
The other attraction of this place is that it is a well kept secret so the numbers visiting were quite low therefore making it a relaxing and pleasurable visit. It’s also really cute that Prince, Princess and Musketeer costumes can be hired for the children to wear during their visit. Such a fun idea!
I arrived back in Paris at 6 pm to rain and my dancing date cancelling on me! So I’ve got no one to go out with – but the evening is not a complete loss – there’s always crepes to go out for – and champagne to be enjoyed!
No comments:
Post a Comment