Fontainebleau Chateau

Like always i am way behind on posts. Not sure how it happens really. Alright, TWO Sundays ago Jessie and I ventured to Fontainebleau. It is another huge chateau that the Kings and Queens used to visit. Its similar to Versailles, except that it has more rooms open to the public and the palace feels bigger than at Versailles however the grounds are smaller and it only houses one palace. But still one big palace in the forest is just as cool as a spread out chateau overcrowded with tourists.

And so the magical town of Fontainebleau:After passing the random merry-go-round we entered a park that we hoped would lead us to the chateau and were shocked to see these peacocks roaming around. This one made a friend and was quite civilized:

As opposed to this one who ran amok and hide in bushes.
Probably he was fearful of Jessie's height and my boots.

back to the creeper seatin' so unnaturally

And this little one, who i thought looked the most fearsome. Actually they all were a little terrifying just wondering around with their eyes looking ready for a charge.
But that might just be my little fear of birds.

And the first fountain we saw

Me, wearing my boots, wondering the old grounds were the French royalty used to hunt.

The first shot of the chateau. It is from the side and not front on because apparently we happened upon the gardens before going through the front.

The gigantic gates and my best shot of the whole palace

Another side view, but from inside the palace this time

Some stained glass

Some wonderful portraits of dogs. I had to include this in hopes somebody will relay the message to my dogs that i am thinking about them. Trust me they would understand the message, even if Rocky was playing dumb.
Also these portraits are attached to the gallery that Francois I had built in 1500's and is the "first great decorated gallery in France." Of course the important pictures from this gallery failed to make my cut, instead enjoy the pups.

Yes these are plates that are encased into a wall, but wait there's more

A whole room of plates randomly encased in a magnificent hall. They were collected by Henri IV

A Royal Bed and chandelier

A Royal desk and chandelier

An amazing door. There were four doors like this in a tiny little room. All with crazy detailed carvings that were just a tad bit creepy.

A sideways picture of the top of the palace's cathedral, from the creepy door room.

And the most interesting room of the palace. It is the famed gallery of Francois I. There are super old neat frescoes to admire on the walls along with engraved and artsy "F"'s everywhere, just in case one forgets who paid for this hall. But the most interesting part is that they have updated the art collection to include a ridiculous new art showcase. So one hand there are respected frescoes and the other a random assortment of chairs. Yep, chairs are the new modern art showcase. All of you artists out there better hop on that trend while it lasts.

Rows of horrid chairs.

The chairs were shocking in the palace and I kind of resented them as a fan of history, but at the same time I laughed at them and thought it was hilarious that they were in such a place.
This is a fine showcase of candlesticks that happened to be next to the chair showcase.

An elaborate fireplace. The French have tons of fireplaces and I have recently noticed that i have accumulated a ton of pictures of them. I'm thinking that when there is a really cold day here i might dedicate a blog to fireplaces. Just a forewarning.

The church in the palace that one of the old rulers had built.

A showcase of vases. There were tons of cupboards of vases dominating the ballroom. Not sure why, but they like the chairs needed to be noticed.

The amazing library. Unfortunately we were not allowed in here.

A very pretty roof and chandelier. It was a very long tour and I think I started taking very random pictures half way through.

The throne room that Napoleon I had built. I wasn't allowed on the chair as this whole room was roped off, but i tried.

And some random rooms were filled with old and new fixtures, like sinks, bathtubs, toilets and such. I thought it was interesting to see our progression as a society.

And now the back gardens.

First there was a pond with little boats on it, but i forgot that picture because i was starring at this creature. I was quite sure that if i took my eyes off it, it would attack so I only got its picture then moved onto the gardens.

The gardens, where Jessie and I had lunch.

Yep a bread, cheese, apple, and champagne lunch.

The bench were we ate and the random assortment of flowers

The palace with the gardens and fountain.

A random row of mini-Christmas type trees that were at the back of the grounds.

An unnaturally strong little guy. We both tried several times to make wishes, yet it was unyielding. I think this is after 4 attempts, then we threw him back into the bushes.

And walking back through the gardens we found more flying things.

Then we walked through a foresty park toward the train station. There was a horse drawn carriage that Jessie missed.

Jessie showing her creepy "I'm in a forest" walk.













And my creepy "I'm in a forest" pose.

I'll hopefully post more this week, because we are going to be gone Friday thru Monday and I'll only come back with more pictures that will put we further behind on the blog. SO, if i'm on my game expect several (maybe 3) new posts soon. And there will be another chateau post, but also non-chateau related stuff if you can believe it.