Fountainebleau: French finale

Sunday, July 12

Our last day in France! (already?!?)

It dawned damp and gray; we headed out to a charming patisserie on the main street for breakfast – kids had the usual and I an apple pastry and double espresso. (I could get used to this breakfast.)

We then traversed to the Chateau, which is hear the hotel, and spent a couple hours wandering through, then checking out the grounds. The place is huge and lovely.

A hunting forest since the Middle Ages, Fontainebleau has had the favor of the kings of France since the 16th century. They built there one of their greatest castles.

Francois 1, the king who bought the Mona Lisa (it hung here for a while), built most of the magnificent Renaissance castle in the early 16th century. The castle was also a favorite of Napoleon, who left power there in 1814.

Originally called Fontaine Belle Eau or Fontaine Belleau, Fontainebleau settled on its ultimate name in 1169.

This hamlet was endowed with a royal hunting lodge and a chapel by Louis VII in the middle of the twelfth century. A century later, Louis IX, also called Saint Louis, who held Fontainebleau in high esteem and referred to it as "his wilderness", had a country house and a hospital constructed there.

Philip the Fair was born there in 1268 and died there in 1314. In all, thirty-four sovereigns, from Louis VI, the Fat, (1081-1137) (ouch; no need to speculate on how he got that nickname) to Napoléon III (1808-1873), spent time at Fontainebleau.

The connection between the town of Fontainebleau and the French monarchy was reinforced with the transformation of the royal country house into a true royal palace, the Palace of Fontainebleau. This was accomplished by the great builder-king, Francis I (1494–1547), who, in the largest of his many construction projects, reconstructed, expanded, and transformed the royal château at Fontainebleau into a residence that became his favorite, as well as the residence of his mistress, Anne, duchess of Étampes (did he favor the house or his visits with Anne, I wonder...).

From the sixteenth to the eighteenth century, every monarch, from Francis I to Louis XV, made important renovations at the Palace of Fontainebleau, including demolitions, reconstructions, additions, and embellishments of various descriptions.

The place is opulent and gorgeous, so big you could house half a city.

The gardens and forest are likewise huge and gorgeous – fountains, flowers, statues galore.

From the Chateau we set out in the rain for lunch – a lazy Sunday meal at a charming little French restaurant that served specialties from various parts of the country. The kids had chicken and noodles, I ended up with a very thin crusted pizza type item w/ ham, brie and carmelized onions on top. (I’m convinced I ordered something else but as long as my dish didn't show up raw or as an undesirable organ meat, I certainly wasn't going to complain.)

For dessert we returned to our cheery breakfast spot, as they had some great looking cakes in the window. The place was bustling with the Sunday lunch/dessert crowd. Nice atmosphere for our last Sunday afternoon in France.

From there we hopped the friendly bus, driven by same helpful man, back to the train station, traversed to Paris St. Lazare, then to Paris Nord and onto the Eurostar for our quick return to London. And tubed it home. Bus, cab, train, tube all in the space of 4 hours.

May we return to France many times while we're here!