Chateaus Galore

Yesterday my program went on a day trip to Fontainebleau and Vaux-le-Vicomte.  They were both stunning, but if you could combine the interior and Fontainebleau with the exterior and gardens of Vaux-le-Vicomte, you would have the perfect French chateau, in my opinion.

Fontainebleau was extremely ornate and impressive.  This was a royal hunting palace first built for Louis VII, and later used by Louis XIV, Napoleon, Henri IV, and many more.  Also once, the Pope was kidnapped and held prisoner here for 18 months.  Each King added his own wing to the chateau so there are many varying styles throughout it. It is surrounded by the Bois de Fontainebleau, the largest forest in France at about 40,000 acres.   

Vaux-le-Vicomte is a privately owned chateau and it is where Eva Longoria got married.  It had a 'special' exhibit going on which involved talking mannequins..lets just say it left something to be desired and was EXTREMELY tacky.

Luckily the gardens were absolutely magnificent!  We had plenty of time to explore them, which was great because they are massive.  

We walked all the way out here (about a half-hour walk) and then it started to practically hurricane!  It was far too windy for an umbrella so we just started sprinting back to the chateau.  Luckily that only lasted for about five minutes and we were heading back to Paris afterwards anyway.  

Last night was a great night-- a dinner party at a friend's apartment.  We were all having a great time until I burned my hand and started crying, it hurt so bad!  Luckily I made it through the evening with the help of some ice and lots of cold water, and woke up this morning with red marks but no pain.  Today was a relaxing day spent grabbing lunch and studying with friends.  I actually have a midterm this week which marks basically the first time this semester that I've actually felt like I'm in school!